King of Spades,Queen of Hearts FNVnF3 crossover
by Remy King
Summary: When the Lone Wanderer discovers his parents may have orginated from Vault 21 in the Mojave Wasteland, he goes there. There he meets a woman, a Courier. They're then sucked into a 3-way war where their choices decide the Mojave's future.
1. Chapter 1: We're going to Vegas, baby

"What you're asking of me is almost near impossible, " said Owyn Lyons.

"You said 'almost'." Said the man with a grin.

Of course you couldn't see his smile, a full-face helmet of the skintight suit he was wearing covered it. All you could see was your own reflection in the orange visor.

"You've done a lot for us. More than we ever could've dreamed. But you're asking for one of our few Vertibirds we have left. All for a vacation?"

The man in the suit paused. He reached up to the back of his neck and pressed a button. There was a click, and he removed the helmet from his head, revealing raven black hair and calm gray-blue eyes.

"The Enclave are gone." He said. "Also, I heard from Sarah that you needed to make contact with the West again. You could send me and another, and drop me off."

Elder Lyons paused for a moment. It was true he needed to make contact with the West. After all, The Enclave were gone, only remnants of them scattered, unorganized. He needed to report that his mission had not ended in failure, and that they had also completed their original mission. Finally he smiled.

"It seems like only yesterday when Doctor Li and you emerged from that sewer and came to us. In the short span of a year you've managed what we could not for several. How old are you now? 22? 23?"

"I'm 20."

"Very well Samuel. I'll grant your request. Sarah and a few other members of Lyons' Pride will accompany you until your drop off. Be here 5 days from now."

"Thank you Owyn. You don't know how much I need this." He said, picking up his helmet and fastening it back on. He turned his back on the Elder and started to walk away.

"Wait, Samuel. Where we going to leave you?"

He turned, glancing back at the Elder. Behind his mask was a smile.

"The name's Sam," He said. "But since I guess you need to know…"

"New Vegas."

Sam had been planning to go to the Mojave Wasteland since he had learned from Doctor Li. The Doctor had said:

"I…I loved your father. He was a good man. But, he loved Catherine so much; I didn't want to say anything. I thought they had come from here, in the Capital Wasteland, but once I overheard them talking about some Vault 21. There's no Vault 21 here though."

So he had gone to Rothchild, who had researched it for him.

"It seems like the Vault is located in what is now called, the Mojave Wasteland. I believe the Brotherhood has people stationed some where there."

And so, he decided. I'll go there, he thought. He had also asked Rothchild for a favor. Upgrades to his suit, rewarded from helping the Outcasts. Warwick was on his way to meet him now.

"The suit itself is a remarkable piece of armor, provides decent protection, and the stealth field." Rothchild had said. "I believe stealth boys were based off the suit. Come back in a few days and I'll see what I can do.

He knocked cautiously on the Rothchild's office door. He heard Rothchild call him in, so he opened the door. The room was a mess. There were broken power armor suits in a corner, pieces of scrap metal scattered amongst the floor, and several boots littered around his desk.

"Busy?" Sam asked.

Rothchild took a second to look up from his computer terminal.

"Yes, on those upgrades you asked me to do. Come, look." He said waving Warwick over.

On the screen Sam saw a diagram of the Chinese Stealth Armor. The helmet's visor was shaped differently, as well as two metallic plates on the thighs of the armor.

"I made the helmet more appropriate for stealth. The old one has a large, easy to notice visor. I changed it so it's more of a large slit instead of a space helmet." Rothchild said. Warwick laughed. He was right, his helmet right now looked ridiculous. "Also, the two plates on the side of the armor are a very strong magnet, good for clipping on sidearms. I also improved the stealth field the suit generates to a stronger degree."

"Gee thanks Rothchild. How long is this going to take?"

"A few days, 4 at the most."

"Good, because I'm leaving in 5 days." He said stripping off the suit.

5 days later…

Sam was wearing his newly improved Chinese Stealth Armor. He had his .44 Magnum Blackhawk magnetically stuck to his right thigh, and a Trench knife on his left. He had a katana on his back, with a backpack slung over it, containing ammo for his magnum, as well as some rations. He was set. The Vertibird waiting for him had a Brotherhood logo painted on it's side, as well as what seemed as stronger plating, most likely an upgrade from Rothchild. From what he could see it was more of a transport-orientated version, not one for battle. Sarah Lyons offered her hand to help him in the Vertibird. He took it.

"It's around a 12 hour flight to the Mojave. It'll be another 2 hours for us to get to where we're going." Sarah Lyons explained.

"I'm going to miss you guys." Warwick said. And he meant it. He had worked with Lyons' Pride even after the defeat of the Enclave. Two of Lyons' Pride had died since he had joined them. Paladin Vargas died while on the way to the Purifier. Knight Captain Dusk had died when the squad was sent to kill reclaim the Capitol Building. A Super Mutant Behemoth had easily picked her up and tore her apart.

"We're going to miss you too." Said Colvin. He was wearing his Power Armor helmet, but he knew under it there was a warm smile. The others said the same, but he couldn't help but notice Sarah hadn't replied.

For most of the trip he fiddled with his Pip-Boy, changing the color settings and seeing if he could pick up any radio signals. He did manage to find some, but they were flying too fast for him to even hear anything. When he wasn't sleeping or fiddling with his Pip-Boy, he was chatting with Lyons' Pride.

"You never did tell me where you got that katana." Colvin had asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Sam replied, thinking back to his time on the Alien Ship of Zeta. He remembered how the samurai had died, a stray blast from an alien aiming for him. He had been instantly disintegrated; the only thing salvageable was his katana. He wondered if Elliot, that little girl, the slaver, and Paulson were still up there, hovering in that ship.

"We'll be arriving in a couple of hours." Said Sarah. This was the second time she had spoken the entire flight. What was wrong with her? 

"You're leaving a lot of people behind Sam." Said Glade. "What about that Vault girl you used to talk about?"

"I got kicked out of the Vault." Sam said shortly. No one bothered him for the rest of the flight.


	2. Chapter 2: Beth

Author's Note: For everyone reading, the first three chapters will be kind of slow, because I have to find out my footing in this story. Thanks for reading, have a nice day.

A hand shook his shoulder with great force. Sam quickly opened his eyes, and snatched the person's arm with his hand.

"Oh," Sam said. "It's only you."

"Flights over, come on." Said Sarah Lyons. The Vertibird had landed; the rest of the team was asleep, only him and Sarah were awake.

He stepped outside of the Vertibird, and removed his helmet. He could see a town in the far distance, and lights somewhere close to it. He turned back around.

"Well…" he said. "I guess this is good bye." He said to Sarah.

"Yeah. I guess so." She said stepping out of the Vertibird. She came over to him, and before he knew it her lips were on his. It happened too fast and ended too quickly. "Come back to us in one piece okay?"

She turned back to the Vertibird. A few seconds and it began to take off. He watched the Vertibird until it disappeared into the distance. And they were gone. Just like that. Then he turned and began to walk to the light he had seen before. He didn't look back.

"You got what you wanted, now pay up." Said a gruff voice. She didn't recognize it.

"You're crying in the rain pal'ee." Said another voice. Smooth, accented. She looked down at her hands. Tied. She struggled with the ropes with no success.

"Look who's waking up over here." Said the smooth voice again. She looked up. It came from a man in a checkered suit. Black and white. "Time to cash out."

"Will you get it over with?" said a man to his left. The checkered suit man walked forward, a finger pointed in the air.

"Maybe Khans kill people without looking 'em in the face…But I ain't a fake." He said. He pulled something out of his coat. Something circular. Was that…a poker chip? "You made your last delivery kid." He pulled out a gun. "Sorry you got twisted up in the seam."

"From where you're kneeling must seem like an 18-karet run of bad luck." He said aiming the gun at her head. "Truth is, game was rigged from the start."

She heard three bangs before everything went black.

Shit, Sam thought. It had been less than an hour in this place and he had already had to fire his gun. He had walked towards the light, but when he got closer he saw a man in a checkered suit holding a gun to a woman kneeling, probably tied up. He had fired a shot from his Blachawk, aiming for the man in the checkered suit, but he had missed, hitting a man farther to the right. A shot had rung out immediately after his, and the woman had dropped to the ground. Sam fired several more shots, but the man in the checkered suit had gotten away. He rushed to the fallen woman. There was blood all over her face and hair. He felt for her pulse. It was slowly pulsing slower and slower every moment. He dug in his pack and brought out a Med-X and Stimpack, injecting both into the woman's head. He turned to look for that town he had seen earlier, and came face to-no, face to screen with a robot. Sam reacted quickly, drawing his katana from his back and quickly slashing at it. But when he swung the sword missed, the robot merely stepping aside.

"WHOA there partner. Might want to not swing that at me." Said the Robot.

"The FUCK?" Sam yelled.

"My name's Victor" said the robot. "And I'd be glad to help your lady friend." Gesturing to the woman's body.

The town he had seen earlier was called "Goodsprings". Victor had called himself a securitron. He would've looked intimidating, except his face was a cowboy's, which looked ridiculous on the massive armored body. Victor had said a Doctor Mitchell would be able to help. Despite the Victor probably being stronger than him, Sam was forced to carry the woman. When they had arrived at the Doctor's house, the door was opened, the woman taken to a bed immediately. No questions asked. The Doctor had even offered him to sleep on the couch, which he accepted. He didn't even remove his helmet, and instantly went to sleep.

Sam woke up the next morning dazed. Where was he? Then he remembered. The woman, the man in the checkered suit, that…Victor. He removed his helmet, and sat up yawned.

"Glad to see you're awake." Said a voice.

Sam instantly jumped up, Blackhawk in his hands, aiming at the person.

"Whoa slow down there. Just put the gun down. I'm Doctor Mitchell, the person who's helping your friend?" he said. Sam lowered his gun, but kept it out.

"She's not my friend, I just saw her."

"Well if you wanted to know, she's fine. Victor tells me you used Med-X and a Stimpack on her. Good call, it might as well saved her life."

"Who is she?" Sam asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me that. Come here." Mitchell said waving a hand. Sam followed him.

The woman was lying on a bed, there was a lot of blood everywhere but it looked like Mitchell had cleaned her up. Her faced was heart shaped, with pale skin and blonde hair.

"She should be awake soon. I'll have to run some tests." He said. Sam nodded.

A bright light. It was like a flash. It was heaven. She reached up for it.

"Look's like she's awake Doc." Said a voice. A man's. That brought her out of her reality. The light was a lamp hanging from the ceiling. Her head hurt. A lot. She realized she was lying down on a bed. She sat up.

"Where…Where am I?" she asked.

"Let's slow down there." Said a different man. He was old, but his voice was kind and reassuring. "What's your name?"

The Courier was puzzled. What was her name? She racked her brain, thinking hard.

"Beth." She said.

"Well Beth, you're in my house right now. My name is Mitchell. You were shot in the head. This man saved you." He said gesturing to the man behind him. He was handsome, and young as well. But his face had the look of someone who's been far and done a lot.

"My name's Sam." Said the man. She noticed what he was wearing. Some kind of full body suit, with the helmet off.

"Now, Beth we're going to have to go through some tests, check how you are. Would you mind standing up?" said the Doctor.

She tried to stand up too quickly, and faltered. When she tried again, the Doctor had to help her. She was taller than him, but not taller than Sam.

"Let's get started." She said.

Beth didn't answer the questions very well. The truth was, she just didn't remember anything about herself. Throughout all the little tests, Sam just watched. Her eyes were a pure blue, unlike his.

"Well it looks like you're in good condition." Said the Doctor. "Any plans on where you're going?"

Beth shook her head. She didn't know.

"Maybe these will help." Said the Doctor handing her a paper. The flash of memories coming back was too much, she gripped her head in pain.

"I…remember. Checkered suit shot me. Had a…poker chip?" She asked.

"Something like that." Said Sam.

"Well I can't have you wandering around naked and helpless." Said the Doctor. Beth blushed; all she was wearing was a hospital nightgown. The Doctor went into another room, and came back with some items.

"This here is a Pip-Boy, I don't need it anymore. Your friend seems to have one too." Said Mitchell. "Here's a Vault Jumpsuit too. It was my wife's. You're around the same size."

Sam noticed the number on the Vault jumpsuit. 21. His heart skipped a beat.

"Doc, you don't happen to know where Vault 21 is do you?"

The Doctor looked at him quizzically.

"It's in the New Vegas strip. Won't do you much good going there though. Most of it's cemented."

"Did you used to live there?" asked Sam, excitement gone.

"Once. A long time ago." He said. His tone was different. Memorable? Mournful?

The Doctor also handed Beth a gun. A Colt M1911. Smaller caliber than a 10mm, but more reliable according to a magazine Sam had read.

"Well that's it." The Doctor said. "I take it you two won't be traveling together?"

Sam and Beth glanced at each other. Sam shrugged.

"I don't know much about the Mojave. But I do know how to fight." Said Sam.

"That makes two of us." Said Beth.

"Then it's settled. You two can travel together." Said the Doctor. "You might want to drop by the Saloon, talk to Sunny Smiles."

Beth and Sam thanked the Doctor, and left the house. It was weird, Sam thought How things turn out.

"I'm going to drop by the shop here." Sam announced. "Do you want anything?"

"No. I'll go to the Saloon, see that Sunny person." Said Beth. "I'll meet you back at the Doctor?"

"Sure." Sam said. He watched her go, and then left for the shop.


	3. Chapter 3: Send me a postcard from Hell

Authors Note:

I've been having troubling separating parts, so from chapter one to chapter two have had weird perspective mismatches. From here on I'm hoping this editing on the site works. I've been doing it in Microsoft Word, but I guess the document uploader doesn't upload the indents, squigly lines, and enter spaces? I don't know, leave a comment if you want to help me out. Also, it's going to stop being a retelling of a quest now. Things are going to start boiling up and getting interesting.

Ghost88: When I discovered the Chinese stealth armor was in New Vegas I was super happy and went to get it right away. After I discovered it had no stealth field I was kind of sad. DLC later maybe? Who knows?

Dark Flygon Naxi: The shock sword is very strong, and I thought that placing it with the Chinese stealth armor would make Sam look too…Asian (I'm half Asian too, not racist) and weird?

Desertstar87: Beth was shot in the head twice, so who knows how jumbled up her memory is?

Everyone: Thanks for reading, I DO look at the review/comment area. I don't care too much on the "This many reviews will get an update" thing. I write for fun, and enjoy if people who read it like it.

Heres chapter 3, thanks for reading!

* * *

Beth felt out of place in her Vault clothes in the bar. She would have to drop by that shop that Sam was in later. Who was Sam? He seemed…different. She made a mental note to ask him about his past. She saw a woman in the corner of the bar, with a dog at her side.

"Are you Sunny?" Beth asked uncertainly.

"Yup. Doc Mitchell said you could use some help learning how to shoot and stuff. You up for it?" Sunny said. Beth nodded. "Meet me out back."

* * *

As soon as he stepped into the shop Sam noticed it was a mess. The floor was littered with paper, and weapons were placed crookedly on the walls. He called out,

"Anybody here?"

He heard a groan in the back of the store. He waited a few moments and considered leaving, but a man emerged from the back room.

"My name's Chet." The man mumbled. "You here to buy something or just to be a nuisance?"

"Do you have any .44 ammo here?" asked Sam, slightly annoyed. Chet turned his back and looked into a trunk behind him. When he came back up he was holding 5 bullets.

"All I got, take it or leave it."

"I'll take it. You guys use caps here in the Mojave?"

"Naw, we use fairy dust man."

Sam took that as a yes. He pulled out a sack of caps from his bag.

"How much?"

"60 caps."

Sam fumed. This man was overpricing the rounds. In the Capital Wasteland, he bought rounds for 4 caps a bullet for his Blackhawk. He paid Chet regardless; he had to replace the bullets he had fired at the man in a checkered suit anyways. He was about to leave the shop when Beth and Sunny Smiles came in.

"Hey, Sam." Said Beth cheerfully. Something was up.

"This girl is a crack shot with a rifle." Said Sunny Smiles pointing to Beth. "Two Geckos, one bullet."

Beth gave a proud smile. Sam then realized she didn't look that old to him. She had the look he always had before he left the Vault. Carefree and innocent.

"I need to buy some clothes. Something that fits in, not this Vault suit." Beth said.

Chet grumbled to himself and went into his back room, coming back with a set of leather armor in size close to Sunny's. That would mean it would be small on Beth.

"Chet, get her a bigger size, she ain't gonna fit in that." Said Sunny querulously.

Chet didn't respond. He went in the back room again and came back with a larger size. Sam began to take out his bag of caps again.

"Oh no," Sunny said pushing away Sam's hand. "I'm buying."

Sam reluctantly put away his bag. He checked the time on his Pip-Boy. Almost mid-day.

"Sunny you guys got any work you need done around here?" Sam asked.

"We got some trader, Ringo, holed up in the gas station up farther than Doc Mitchell's. He's hiding out from some Powder Gangers."

"Powder Gangers?" Sam asked, troubled.

"Bunch o' convicted felons that escaped. They say they'll leave us alone if we just give em' Ringo. But I know that ain't the case. They'll come back eventually. We need to stop them now." Said Sunny.

"What can we do to help?" asked Beth. Sam glanced at her, but she didn't notice.

"Well Trudy is like our de facto leader. If you can get her on our side a bunch o' towns people would help. Doc Mitchell might have some supplies we could use. Easy Pete has some Dynamite, and Chet here could give us some guns and armor." Sunny said, glaring at Chet. He glared back. Clearly he didn't want to just give them the guns and armor.

"Chet listen to me." Said Beth. "If the Powder Gangers come, they'll tear down your shop. You'll probably be killed too. You think they'll just take Ringo and leave?"

Chet hesitated. He looked to Sam for help but when he looked at his eyes, he knew if he didn't comply there would be trouble.

"Fine, I'll give you the stuff. Just have whoever needs it come here before closing time."

The trio left the shop with a sense of accomplishment. Sunny Smile's dog Cheyenne barked at them happily. They had one asset to their group already, the guns.

"I'll talk to this Ringo and Doc Mitchell. Beth you can talk to that Trudy woman and Pete. You seem to have a way with words." Sam said, turning. Beth blushed a little, and hoped Sunny hadn't seen it. If she did, she didn't mention it as the two walked towards the saloon.

* * *

Joe Cobb readied his .357 Magnum, reloading rounds into it. He brushed some dust off his guard armor he had gotten when the Power Gangers had rebelled against their captors. He stood up, eyes on him.

"Alright men. Today we're going after Ringo. He's the only one of that damn caravan that escaped. He has to have to rest of the caps on him." Joe Cobb said. "Once we get that little bitch, we're gonna party hard tonight and get drunk. Who's with me?"

The small group of Powder Gangers yelled in agreement, waving their guns in the air.

"So here's how we're gonna do it…" Joe Cobb began.

* * *

Sam met Beth on his way out from Doc Mitchell's house. He was holding some Stimpacksand Med-X in one hand. Beth was holding a few sticks of dynamite.

"Did you get Trudy to help?" Sam asked.

"Yeah. Easy Pete let us have some dynamite too. We're going to have one hell of a gun fight."

"Doc Mitchell gave me some Stimpacks and Med-X." Sam said. "Uh…he also said he found this in your old clothes."

Sam held out his other hand. A silver chained necklace with a cross. Beth gingerly took it from his hand.

"Um…were you…"

"I don't know…"Beth said uncomfortably. She shrugged and slipped it over her head, tucking the cross inside her armor. "Well, all we gotta do is talk to Ringo and wait until the Powder Gangers come."

"Yeah…" Sam said. As they walk towards the gas station, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of woman Beth was.

Ringo turned out to be a young, Caucasian male that immediately jumped at the sight of the two and pulled out his gun.

"Whoa there, hold up. We're with Sunny Smiles. We're going to help you get rid of the Powder Gangers after you." Beth said holding up her hands. She looked at Sam to do the same, but he had taken his knife from his thigh, readying it. Finally, he put it away, and Ringo holstered his gun.

"I can't thank you guys enough. I…I can't pay you in full now, but I'll give you the rest of what I got for helping me." Ringo said.

"That's not-" Beth started. The door to the station burst open as Sunny came, with Cheyenne in tow.

"The Powder Gangers are here! And they're not coming for some hugs and kisses. Come on!" Sunny said.

The group ran out of the gas station, Beth and Sunny drawing their Varmint Rifles from their backs, Ringo taking out his pistol, and Sam drawing his katana from the sheath on his back. They made it to the town just in time, Joe Cobb was shouting from behind the group of Powder Gangers. Sam counted 13 of them. Not a lucky number, but he had fought harder, and stronger opponents than these guys. He could see there were 3 Goodspring people with guns, and 2 up on the roof of the Saloon, holding dynamite. Trudy was also among them, holding a pistol as well.

"There's 13 of them, but they don't seem smart or organized." Sam announced. Beth looked at him uncertainly. "Trust me, these guys look like pushovers compared to the raiders in the Capital Wasteland."

So the Capital Wasteland was where he was from! Beth thought. She raised her Varmint Rifle, and aimed for the head of a Powder Ganger up front wearing a hat. She pulled the trigger, and was satisfied to see a hole in the man's head as he fell back. Sam had disappeared. Where had he gone? Then she saw him. He had seemed to materialize out of thin air, as his katana beheaded a Powder Ganger. The Powder Gangers were quick to react. They fired shots at him, but he disappeared again. Two sticks of dynamite flew from the room of the Saloon, one of them exploded in the front of the Powder Gangers; the other went wide and flew past them, exploding harmlessly behind them. Joe Cobb must have realized he underestimated them, so he started to run. The Goodsprings Militia gunned down the other Powder Gangers easily. The battle had been won, without casualties to the Goodsprings settlers.

* * *

God fucking damn it, thought Joe Cobb as he sprinted away from Goodsprings. His legs were tired, so he stopped sprinting. He took a moment to catch his breath and looked back at the town. Goodsprings, he thought. God damn it he should've never tried to go after Ringo. Now he had no caps, no troops to boss around, and he had to report back to Eddie and tell him what happened.

"Thinking?" said a voice. Joe turned around. There was nothing there. Was he imagining things?

"No, you're not going crazy. But you're going some where." The voice said again. It was a man's voice.

"What the FUCK are you!" Joe said, waving his arms around him. He was getting panicked. Then, suddenly a sword ripped into his stomach. It's owner materialized out of thin air. The man was clothed entirely in a full black body suit.

"You're going to Hell." Sam said, wrenching the blade out of Joe Cobb. He cleaned his sword with Joe's clothes, blade hitting something metal when he wiped it on the man's chest. Sam dug it out of the corpse of Joe Cobb, revealing it to be a stealth boy. Not that he needed it. Maybe Beth would find a use for it. He also looted Joe Cobb's .357 Magnum and it's ammo. He checked the magnum's condition, and found that Joe Cobb hadn't fire a single shot.

"Coward." Sam said, spitting on his corpse.


	4. Chapter 4: Vulpes Inculta

**Authors Note**

Wertmon505: I'll be following relatively close to the plot, but I want to change things up a bit, make them meet some people early, make some people not appear at all. I'll probably be trying to get more people to join them, not just companions you find in game. We'll see.

Everyone: I'm glad I have readers, and this chapter kind of drags on and may seem uninteresting, but bear with me, I'm setting things up. Thank you for reading, have a nice day.

* * *

The town's people had clapped Beth on the back, cheering for her for her ability to round them all up to fight the Powder Gangers. Even Chet cheered, most likely that the Powder Gangers no longer threatened his business. Beth was worried though. Sam was nowhere to be found, his body not even amongst the dead of the Powder Gangers. She had asked around, no one had seen him. Just when she was about to start searching the area around Goodsprings, she saw him, in the distance walking back towards her. She raised a hand in a gesture of greeting, and he waved backed. When he got to her he removed his helmet. His black hair stuck up in the back. He handed her something.

"Here's a Stealth Boy, turns you invisible, but I heard too much use can cause you to go crazy." Sam said. He also handed her Joe Cobb's .357 magnum, and ammo for it.

"Thank you." She said, pausing. "Where did you go? Why didn't I see you?"

As if to answer, Sam turned invisible, and then appeared out of thin air. Beth put a hand over her mouth.

"It's my suit." Sam explained. "Got it from a bunker in the Capital Wasteland from helping some people. Few upgrades from my friend in the Brotherhood of Steel there too."

Beth merely nodded. She started to ask him something, but stopped. Questions about him could wait.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked. Her tone was uncertain, as if she was thinking that Sam didn't want to go anywhere with her.

"We?" He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Forget it" Beth said turning, face growing red. "I just thought-"

"Hey wait!" Sam said. He grabbed her hand and turned her around. "I didn't think you wanted me along."

"We don't have anyone but each other." She said. There was a moment of silence between the two. Then Sam realized he was still holding her hand and let go. They both blushed.

"So…friends?" he said sticking his hand out.

"More like…traveling companions." She said smiling and shaking his hand.

* * *

They spent the night in Victor's shack, where there was only one bed. Beth offered to sleep on the floor, but Sam insisted she slept on the bed. They argued, but eventually Sam had won, saying simply,

"The lady should have the bed."

Beth had grudgingly taken the bed. Sam kept awake until he heard the soft sound of Beth's breathing, a sign she was asleep. He smiled and closed his eyes.

They awoke the next morning hungry, realizing they hadn't eaten an entire meal that day. Sam dug out a box of Sugar Bombs from his pack and gave Beth the box of cereal and the spoon. He took out a can of beans for himself and they both enjoyed a cold, quiet breakfast. In the middle of their meal, someone knocked on their door. It was Ringo.

"I just wanted to thank you two for helping me. I can't pay you in full here, but if you ever drop by the Crimson Caravans, I'll pay you more. Here, I'll mark it on your Pip-Boys." He said. "They people of Goodsprings also wanted to give you guys this, on their behalf."

Ringo handed them a backpack, full of food, water, medical supplies, and ammo for Beth's guns. They both thanked him, and he left without another word. Sam counted out the caps. 100 in total. He tossed the bag of it to Beth. They split the food, water, and medical supplies amongst the two backpacks they had. Sam decided it would be easier if she kept a set of caps for herself and if they both kept their own ammo. He had also said they should each keep an equal supply of food and water, but she made him carry most of it, giggling while she said,

"The lady shouldn't have to carry the bulk of the load."

"Whatever." Sam said pulling on his pack. It was heavy, mostly from the water, but he had carried a set of Power Armor with many guns to the Outcasts in the Capital Wasteland at one time, so this was nothing. "Where are we headed, your highness?"

Beth raised an eyebrow and giggled again at Sam's tone when he said, "your highness".

"I'm thinking Primm. Said something in my Courier orders about it. We should check it out."

"Sure, as long as you know where we're going."

The two of them had made it to Primm quickly, following a road marked by Sunny Smiles on their Pip-Boys. On the way, Beth had asked Sam what the Pip-Boy's used was, besides a handy map.

"It has a Geiger counter on it." Sam said. Beth looked at him blankly. "It shows your Radiation level, you know so if it's too high you can do something about it. It can play holotapes too, and it's a pretty good journal if you feel like typing into it."

"Can I take it off?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, but I'm used to mine, had it since I was a kid. Don't take it off much." He said.

So if he had it since he was a kid, he must've lived in a Vault, Beth realized. Sam was proving to be an interesting companion to travel with.

"So you lived in a Vault?" Beth asked.

Sam hesitated. Talking about Vault 101 was painful. There were too many memories of that place he would rather not think or talk about.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said firmly. "You know, you asked me a question, so now I get to ask you one. Where you from?"

* * *

Beth was taken back by the sudden question. The truth was, she didn't remember. But gunshots in the distanced saved her from answering. The two of them rushed to the sound, guns drawn. He could see some men wearing ragged clothes shooting at obviously better armed men. The better armed, and more organized men backed off, as the ragged clothes ones retreated. Sam and Beth ran over to one of the better-armed men. AS they approached, the man yelled,

"The hell you guys doing here. This is a war zone." He said.

"Who are you guys?" Sam asked. He was puzzled by their armor; it didn't look heavy but looked like it provided decent protection.

"Who the fuck do you think we look like. We're NCR You been living under a rock or something?"

Sam looked to Beth for help. She explained for him.

"These guys are part of the New California Republic, large organization of 'good guys' I suppose."

"Well looky here, we got a blonde who ain't dumb." Said the NCR troop.

"What can we do to help here?" Sam asked. Beth looked offended by the man's comment, but didn't say anything.

"You could try and save those people in there. Damn convicts. We won't stop you. But we won't help either."

Sam nodded, but Beth stepped forward, arms crossed.

"They're holding hostages there and you're not going to even do anything about it?" Beth yelled.

"Keep your bitch in line." The NCR troop said to Sam. Beth was about to hit him, but Sam held her back.

"Come on, let's try and get those people out of there." He said. She wrestled out of his grip and they marched in the Primm. Sam had put away the Blachawk and drawn his katana. Beth had her Varmint Rifle out. Sam saw the convict before the convict saw him. He turned invisible immediately, snuck up on the man and plunged the katana up his spine, there was a cry of pain from the convict before Sam wrenched his blade from the corpse. The other convicts heard his scream and turned to the direction of the cries. All they saw was Beth, and a dead convict near her. They opened fired on her. A quick tackle brought Beth behind a building. Sam became visible again and helped her to her feet.

"Keep on your toes Beth. If we're traveling together you're going to have to keep on your toes." He said. She nodded and readied her gun. "On three, we'll pop the corner. Dash into the building to your right, there's a guy up on the roof. Don't look back."

"One."

"Two."

"Three, GO."

The two rounded the corner, weapons in hand. Beth fired a quick shot at a convict across the street and immediately went into the building to her right. Sam dashed forward, ignoring bullets shot at him wildly by another convict. Only one bullet hit, in his right shoulder, a strong defensive point of the Chinese Stealth Suit. The bullet hadn't penetrated the suit, but hit with enough force so that it would bruise. Sam silenced the gun but cutting off it's owner's head. Meanwhile, Beth had killed 2 convicts in the shop, one with her Varmint Rifle, and another with her Colt M1911. As the sound of guns died down, Beth left the building and met up with Sam, who was cleaning the blood off his sword with a convict's shirt.

"You al right?" Beth asked. Sam looked up from the corpse of the convict. He nodded. Beth shivered at the sight of him. The way he calmly killed people, and they way the she couldn't see his face behind the helmet, made her uneasy.

"There's a casino up ahead. And I bet that's probably where the residents of Primm are holed up." He said.

When they arrived in the casino, a man named Johnson Nash greeted them.

"We heard the gun shots from outside. Figured you were NCR or something." He said hesitantly. "Are you NCR?"

"The NCR are to worried about wasting supplies than rescuing you people." Beth said angrily. "We decided to help."

Many of the town residents came up to thank them, but Johnson silenced them.

"There's still a problem. The convicts killed our Sheriff. His Deputy is being held hostage in the Bison Hotel 'cross the street."

"I'll take care of it." Sam said. Beth started to walk with him, but he stopped her. "No, stay here."

He left without another word. Beth turned to Johnson.

"Do you know anything about this?" she said, digging in her pack and handing him the Courier orders she had. She was surprised when he nodded.

"I manage the Mojave Express here in Primm." He said. "Seems like whoever's this was they were supposed to deliver a package to New Vegas from here. You might want to ask Deputy Beagle if your friend manages to get him."

A few minutes later they watched as Sam walked backed, covered in blood with a scared Deputy Beagle in tow. Beth rushed to him.

"It's not mine." Sam assured her. He removed his helmet, and shook his head. Beth then addressed Deputy Beagle.

"Do you know anything about this?" she said handing him the orders. He quickly scanned it, and shook his head. "Do you know anyone who wears a checkered suit then?"

Beagle's eyes widened when she mention the checkered suit. "Saw a guy rolling with Great Khans the other day. I heard they were headed for Novac."

"Looks like that's where we're headed." Sam said, sheathing his katana.

"Wait!" Beagle said. "There's just one more problem. We don't have a Sheriff!"

"Couldn't you just be Sheriff?" Beth asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh…" Beagle said shifting uncomfortably. "No."

Beth sighed. They could lose the trail of this Benny if they stopped and helped them now. Sam looked at her, and then spoke.

"Go." He said. "I'll get them a new Sheriff, and I'll catch up with you soon."

Beth nodded her head. They both knew it was probably a goodbye for a while. If Beth set out to find the man in the checkered suit, and Sam stayed to help the residents of Primm, it would be a while before they met up again. Deputy Beagle cleared his throat loudly. Sam and Beth glared at him.

"Uh…we got a protectron you could reprogram to be sheriff. It would only take an hour and then you both could be off."

Sam went to work right away. Turned out he was as good with robots as he was with sneaking around and using his sword. He stopped just short of an hour, with the protectron up and running.

"Thank you two so much." Said Ruby Nash, Johnson's wife. They accepted some water from Ruby, and set out to Novac. Little did they know, a town called Nipton on their way was being raided by the Legion.

* * *

Fuck, fuck, shit, thought Boxcars as him and his fellow Powder Gangers were quickly surrounded by Legion troops. They had come here because they thought there were NCR troops here ready for kidnapping. He knew there was something odd about it. Now they were about to pay.

"Alright," said one of the Legion. "You are all here because you are scum. Weak. Pathetic. But, I'm in a giving mood right now. We're going to play a game."

The man address the whole crowd, not just eh Powder Gangers. Someone decided to try and make a break for it. He was shot instantly. The man who spoke wore a coyote's head's pelt on his head. His voice was calm, and commanding.

"I'm going to give all of you pieces of paper with numbers on them. If you are called first, you'll live. For the rest of you…" he said gazing at them. "We'll see what happens to you all. Let the games…begin."

* * *

On there way to Nipton, where they decided they would stop for the rest of the day, Sam pulled a gun out of his pack and handed it to Beth.

"I found it on one of the convicts when I was saving Beagle. Figured you might've wanted it."

It was a .357 Magnum, with a white ivory handle, and a print of a club on it. The words Lucky were engraved on the barrel. It was in surprisingly good condition, so she replaced her old magnum for it.

"We're going to have sell some of the guns and supplies we have. It's getting too heavy and slowing us down." She said.

"We'll get rid of the stuff in Nipton. I'm sure-" Out in the distance he could make out fires, and…a Powder Ganger running towards them. He looked unarmed, but Sam didn't take the risk and pulled out the Blackhawk. Beth looked at Sam as the Powder Ganger began jumping up and down, skipping towards them.

"I WON! I WON THE DAMN LOTTERY!" he shouted gleefully.

"Lottery? What lottery?" Beth asked.

"The only lottery that matters baby! Wahoo!" the Powder Ganger skipped off into the distance, still whooping and yelling.

"That was…weird." Sam finally said after a moment of awkwardness. Beth nodded. They continued on their way to Nipton, only to find the down destroyed. Beth gasped as she saw headless corpses, and still alive Powder Gangers, being crucified on crosses. Sam drew his katana.

"Get out your gun. Whoever did this might still be around."

Beth pulled out Lucky as several men exited the main building to which Sam guessed was the town hall. 4 vicious looking dogs followed them. Beth aimed and prepared to fire, but one of them, wearing a coyote's head raised a hand saying,

"We're not going to harm you. Lower your weapons before you get hurt."

Beth did not lower her gun until Sam lowered it for her. He whispered to her softly,

"If they wanted to kill us they would've just shot us on sight."

The man wearing a coyote's head spoke to them. "I am Vulpes Inculta. We are part of the Legion."

"Why did you do this? Do you have no soul?" Beth asked angrily.

"You don't understand. These fools deserved it. They are swine and deserved their fate."

Sam carefully chose his words, as to not get them both killed. "I see, and what of us? We are but two weary travelers who came here in need of a place to stay the night? What will you do to us?"

Vulpes Inculta looked at him, as a coyote would look at their prey, eyeing their defenses.

"You are a strange one. And because I cannot know your pasts, I will let you live. We were leaving anyways. Caesar awaits."

He spoke Caesar as KAI-sar. Sam found it strange, but said nothing as the Legion soldiers left. Beth was shaking.

"What they did to those people…it's horrible…they are the ones that deserve to die." She said. Sam put his hand on her shoulder.

"I know. But we couldn't take them. Not head on like that. They outnumbered us and could easily out gun us too. At least we got away alive."

"What about them," Beth said pointing at the men being crucified. "What can we do for them?"

Sam went up to one of them. He saw there were nails nailed through his arms into the cross. Multiple nails. Removing them would be death. He heard a low moan from one of them as he said,

"Please…"

Sam understood. Beth turned away as Sam drew his katana. It was over in a couple of minutes. Everything was quiet, except the sounds of the crows.

They salvaged as much as they could from the town, mostly food and drink for the night. Sam had also found bedrolls, and packed them as well. He had to get rid of some food to make space for his in his pack. The next morning they were about to leave for Novac, but Beth had entered the general store, and called for Sam. When he came he saw what the problem was.

"Fuck man! First I get my legs hammered, and now Joe Cobb's killers come in. God damn it man, fuck!" said the man. He had dark skin, and wore Powder Ganger clothing.

"Who are you?" Sam asked cautiously.

"I'm a mother fucking Powder Ganger, what do you think? The name's Boxcars, don't ask about it."

"Did the Legion people do this to do?" asked Beth, staring at his bloodied legs.

"Who the hell you think did this? Naw, me and me buds just decided to smash my legs and leave me to die for the fun of it. Man the pain has been killing me, killing me man."

Sam reached into his backpack, and pulled out 2 syringes of Med-X. He administered both to both of Boxcars' legs. Boxcars sighed as the pain left his legs.

"Damn who are you two? Helping a Powder Ganger?"

"My name is Beth. He's Sam." Said Beth. "Your legs are dead forever probably. But you'll live."

"There's a town called Primm nearby. If you want we can-"

"No man. I'm done. But thanks for giving a dying man some peace." Said Boxcars. He laid his head on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. Beth shrugged but tossed a few more Med-X on the floor. Then they left, leaving the dying Powder Ganger to himself.


	5. Chapter 5: Boone

**Authors Note**

**This chapter isn't too amazing, but it sets the next one up for something better. I'll be having them go to Vegas next chapter, but I might make them stop for a detour. Who knows? I'll see about it.**

shadowjohn101: I do plan on making it harder, like Nightkin, Mercenaries, and maybe even a Super Mutant Behemoth. I miss the behemoths from Fallout 3.

Desertstar87: I do plan on Sam keeping the Blackhawk, and Beth keeping Lucky, but they will be using stronger weapons, especially when they get to Gun Runners.

Dark Flygon Naxi: I don't plan on giving anyone who doesn't have a suit the suits in Hoover Dam, though I might introduce it for Sam to mess with it, or use it for repairs. It will be Anti-Legion, but I don't plan on it being a totally dominant NCR ending, or a totally dominant Mr. House ending.

Everyone: I'm glad I have readers and some reviewers/commenters. If they're some people who read this but don't review/comment or just don't have an account, make one, I'm glad to have people to interact with in the comments. I plan on introducing our group to the Brotherhood of Steel, probably next chapter or the one after it. Hope y'all have a nice day, and thank you for reading.

* * *

Sam removed his shirt, then his pants. He slipped on his Chinese Stealth Suit, but he continued to stare at the wall. On the opposite side of the room, Beth was changing. When she finally adjusted the strap to her leather armor, she said,

"Ok I'm done. You?"

"Yeah." Sam said, turning around. He bent over and pick up his katana and sheath, which had a strap on it, and threw it over his back. He put the Blackhawk on his right thigh, trench knife on his left. He finished by putting on his helmet, fully encasing him. Beth in the meantime had put her .357 magnum Lucky in a holster on her right thigh, with a Varmint Rifle over her back.

"We'll make it to Novac before mid-day." Beth said. "So we can get something to eat there while we're at it."

They began their trek to Novac a little before 7 in the morning. For most of their journey, they encounter no trouble, until they found themselves in the middle of a Legion and NCR battle. There was short confrontation, the NCR engaged the Legion, and met heavy resistance. The NCR were driven back easily, as 2 of their men fell to the Legion.

Sam and Beth approached them.

"What are you guys doing?" Beth asked.

"What does it look like? We're trying to get rid of these damn Legion. They got a few Powder Gangers hostage, but we don't give a fuck. We need to kill these sons of bitches." Said one of the NCR men. His uniform had a sign of the rank sergeant.

"We'll help if you'd like." Sam said. The sergeant eyed them both over. Sam was the same height as him, and he considered himself decently tall compared to the soldiers in his company. Beth was shorter, and looked like she was more suited serving drinks at the Tops, in New Vegas.

"Al right. We can take all the help we can get. They won't be expecting us to attack again, nor will they we expecting you guys." Said the sergeant. He loaded his shotgun, and motioned for his troops to get ready.

The Legion recruit that had been keeping watch was surprised when his fellow recruit next to him, cried out in agony, blood oozing from his arm. Another shot sent him to the ground, clutching his shin. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't quick to react, which resulted in Sam beheading him. The rest of the Legion reacted quite quickly to the attack. Three of them quickly surrounded Sam, all wielding machetes.

"At least they have some honor…" he muttered as he blocked a blow from one of them. He knew he couldn't fight defensively against three opponents in close combat, so he swung his katana in a deadly arc, blade finding it's mark on one of the Legion recruit's hand. Sam turned to his next opponent quickly, upper cutting him in the chin. He was about to turn on the third man, but the first Legion recruit tackled him to the ground. Sam lost his grip on his katana, and quickly threw the Legion recruit off of him. He reached for the Blackhawk, and realized it must have fallen off when he couldn't find it on his thigh. He drew his trench knife. A machete came down on him; he blocked it, struggling to push it aside. He kicked its owner where it hurts, and punched him in the face with the spiky edge of his trench knife's handle. He reached forward, stabbing a different Legion recruit in the gut. The same recruit who had tackled him before tackled him again, this time pinning him and getting in a few good punches before being stabbed as well. Sam pushed the dead corpse off of himself, turning to face the Legion recruit he had punched in the face. He was unarmed, and the Legion recruit had a machete in his hands. Sam raised his hands in a fighting stance. A shot rang out, and the Legion recruit's brains were blown out. Beth stood behind him, reloading Lucky. There were a couple of corpses around her as well, one of them NCR. Her leather armor was stained red with blood.

"Took you awhile didn't it?" she said smiling. Sam pulled off his helmet and shook his head. He retrieved his fallen weapons, and Beth handed him his backpack. The NCR sergeant rushed over to them.

"Well hot damn. You two took out most of 'em all by yourselves. We're about to have a little fun with them Powder Gangers. Y'all wanna join?"

They both shook their heads. The sergeant left them. Beth scavenged the corpses for ammo and guns, and found herself rewarded with a Cowboy Repeater. She threw her Varmint Rifle aside, not needing it anymore. Together, they started to make their way to Novac.

* * *

When the arrived in Novac the first thing they noticed was the dinosaur. At least, that's what they thought it was called. Their guess had been verified when they asked a woman named Jeannie May Crawford. She had also rented them a room for the night as well, for 100 caps. They had also encountered a wandering trader, who they traded their surplus guns to, and picked up two hunting rifles, one of them having a scope. Sam was surprised when he found out the hunting rifles shot .308 rounds, not .32 like in the Capital Wasteland. They had gained a very little amount of caps from their transaction, but Sam had insisted they buy the hunting rifles when he had found out their killing potential. Sam waited outside as Beth changed in their room. She exited, wearing a white tank top, blue jeans, and boots, clothes they had picked up in Nipton. Sam went in for his turn, changing into an olive colored shirt, black jeans, and boots also from Nipton. He still had the Blackhawk in his pocket, the rest of his weapons in the room. The two watched as the rose to its highest peak, mid day. Sam turned to Beth.

"We should probably ask around town for that man in a checkered suit."

"Yeah you're right. We'll split up. I'll meet you back here later." Beth said. She headed towards the center of town, where most of the people were. Sam looked up at the giant dinosaur.

"Why the hell not?" he said to himself, walking to it. He entered the shop, surprised when he found two men with red berets arguing. They seemed to go on forever, a man behind a desk was covering his ears.

"Uh, excuse me, do any of you know of a guy who wears a checkered suit?" Sam asked suddenly. They both turned to him, glaring. One of them, wearing sunglasses pushed past him, grumbling. The other spoke to him.

"Yeah I know of a guy. What's it to you?"

"My name is Sam. He shot my friend Beth in the head. We're going after him."

"Manny Vargas. But I ain't just going to give you your information. You're going to have to do something for me."

"What?"

"There's some ghouls out in the REPCONN test site near hear. A lot of 'em. Clear them out, and I'll give you your information."

Sam grew angry. Why couldn't the asshole just tell him?

"I'll think about it." Sam said through gritted teeth. Manny shrugged and left the dinosaur. Sam looked back at the man who had been covering his ears. He was sitting up straighter now.

"I know how to get your information without killing them ghouls." The man said. He stood up from the desk. "Manny has a terminal in his room. Keeps all his info on that thing. Seen it a couple times when I was cleaning out the rooms over there. Manny takes the day shift of keeping bad things away from Nipton, if you're plan on breaking in do it now."

Sam thanked the man, and placed a few caps on his desk. He had news to tell Beth.

* * *

No one who Beth asked knew anything about a man in a checkered suit. She sighed. A dead end. She was on her way back to the room, when she bumped into a tall man, taller than Sam. He had a red beret on, and sunglasses hid his eyes.

"Sorry!" she said quickly. The man scratched his stubble, looking at her, and spoke.

"Hey…you're new here…could you help me with something?" he said. Beth nodded. "Okay. My name is Craig Boone. Don't call me Craig. My wife was taken from me a while ago, by Legion. I know one of the people in this town sold her out. I need you to help me find that person."

"What do I have to do?" she asked.

"Take my beret here. Find the person; send them in front of the dinosaur at night. That's my shift. Put it on when you get them in front of it." Said Boone, handing her his beret. "Make sure you have some god damn proof too. I don't want to kill any innocent people, okay?"

Beth nodded, taking the beret. She had news for Sam.

* * *

The two met at their room, a little after 1. Sam told her his news.

"I know who knows about the man in the checkered suit. He has it on his terminal, in his room. I'm going to go change and sneak in." Sam said. "Where'd you get that?" he said pointing at the red beret in her hands.

"This guy called Boone. He's tall, sunglass. I agreed to help him find who sold his wife to the Legion."

Sam shook his head. "We should switch jobs. Use that stealth boy I gave you back in Goodsprings. Sneak in there and find out who the guy is. I'll take the beret and figure out who this person is."

Beth agreed, and handed him the beret. Hopefully this would work out.

* * *

An hour later they met up again, back at the room. Sam was holding a piece of paper. He held it out to her.

"That women, Crawsworth or whatever did it. Here's the proof." He said handing her the piece of paper. Beth read it over quickly.

"The man who shot me, he's traveling with Great Khans." Beth said. When she saw the blank look on Sam's face, she explained. "Great Khans are this really old gang. They're like the toughest of the tough out here. Anyways, his name is Benny. They're heading to Boulder City."

"When are we going?"

"Tomorrow morning. We have to help this Boone guy. And I want a good night's rest for a change."

Sam nodded. "Do what you gotta do." He opened a bag of chips and began eating. "Just return here when you're finished."

The man, Boone, was a crack shot with a rifle. Better than Beth. She ran up to dinosaur, entered, and made her way up the stairs to where Boone was. He turned as the door behind him opened.

"How did you know?" he said. Beth held out a piece of paper to him. He scanned it, and then stuffed it into his pocket. Beth also handed him his beret back, which he promptly put on his head.

"What will you do now?" she asked abruptly

"I'm not staying here, that's for sure. Maybe I'll travel around like you and your friend." He said, staring off into the night sky.

"You could come with us." Said a voice. Sam appeared out of thin air, revealing himself. He pulled off the helmet to his Chinese Stealth Suit. Beth had been surprised at the sudden appearance. Boone's face showed no emotion.

"I saw you earlier." Boone said. Sam nodded.

"Come with us. Doesn't a sniper need a spotter?" Sam asked. Boone gave a low chuckle.

"A spotter. Not two. But I guess I don't have anything else to do." He said, pausing. "Yeah, why the hell not. Where you kids headed?"

"For now, Boulder City. We're hunting Khans and a guy named Benny. We're going to set out in the morning."

Boone nodded, and slung his rifle over his shoulders. "I'll meet you two by the dinosaur in the morning. 8 o'clock. Be there."

The newly formed trio left the dinosaur, Boone going to his room, Sam and Beth going to theirs. Sam laid out a bedroll for himself on the floor, while Beth crashed on top of the bed. Sam realized he was still in his Chinese Stealth Armor, and politely asked Beth to leave. When he had changed and called Beth back in, she asked,

"What did you do in the Capital Wasteland?" Sam froze. Beth crossed her arms, waiting for an answer. His past had been bugging her for a while. Finally Sam replied,

"I did some good things. Did some things I regret. Left a lot of people behind." He said thinking about Dogmeat, Fawkes, and Star Paladin Cross. He even missed Clover and Jericho, Charon as well. He thoughts ran back to Sarah Lyons, then Amata. He sighed, and then flopped down on his bedroll. Beth still stared at him, arms crossed.

"That's not an acceptable answer." Beth said. She sat down on the bed, but continued to look at him "I'll be up all night until you tell me."

Knowing he had lost this fight, Sam gave in. "Fine. I was a hero. I saved the Capital Wasteland from the Enclave, remnants of the former U.S government. They're corrupt, and think the ends justify the means. They don't. I helped the Brotherhood of Steel destroy the Enclave there. People thought I was some kind of saint. I'm not."

Sam let out a huge sigh. Beth slid from the bed to the floor and sat beside him.

"What did you do?" she asked softly.

"Let's just say I thought the ends justified the means too." He said turning away. Beth realized that was all she'd get of him tonight and made herself comfortable on the bed. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.

* * *

Sam woke before the sun had risen. He stretched his muscles, aching from fighting the previous day. He looked over at Beth, lying on the mattress, Pip-Boy on the ground, hair untied. He thought of waking her, but realized it was still early before they had to leave. He quickly stripped out of his shirt and pants, and slid into his Chinese Stealth Suit, minus the helmet. He grabbed the rest of his gear and left the room, and watched as the sun began to rise. It had been a while since he had enjoyed a sunrise, or a sun set without being on the run, or fighting for his life. He heard footsteps to his left and quickly turned, hand on the Blachawk. The man making the footsteps held his hands up in a gesture of peace. It was Boone.

"She not awake yet?" Boone said gruffly.

"No. You said 8 o'clock." Sam said.

Boone merely shrugged, leaning over a rail. Sam noticed he had a backpack on his back, as well as his hunting rifle. A combat knife was strapped to his belt, and his red beret was on his head. He wore no armor, only a T-shirt and cargo pants.

"What'd you do before you came here?" Sam asked, leaning over the rail as well. The two stared off into the distance, but both were listening to eachother.

"1st Recon Sniper Battalion in the NCR. 'The last thing you'll never see' they said. It's pretty much spot on." Boone said. His tone was resentful though, as if he never wanted to be in the 1st Recon.

"How'd you get in?"

"Did well at the shooting range. Pushed me up when they saw I was a crack shot." Boone replied. He continued the stare off in the distance. After a few moments passed, a tired looking Beth emerged from the room, fully dressed and packed, ready for the day.

"Damn are you two early birds." She mumbled. Sam stifled a laugh as he placed his helmet on. The three stood still and silent for a moment, the only sound heard was a crow in the distance. Finally, an exhausted Beth stomped down a flight of stairs, with Sam and Boone behind her.

* * *

Boulder City was not far away, and when they arrived, they had found out the Great Khans were holding NCR hostages. More NCR troops were prepared to shoot as they aimed at the building the Great Khans were in. The Lieutenant in charge there was close to sending his troops in. Boone stopped him.

"They have damn hostages in there. Don't you care about your men? Do you want them to die?" Boone said growling. He had grabbed the Lieutenant by the scruff of his armor, and shoved him against a wall. Sam removed his helmet, and his pack, tossing them to the side.

"I'll see if I can work out a deal with them." Sam said. He walked towards the Great Khans unarmed, hands up. They let him enter the building cautiously. A Great Khan named Jessup spoke to him.

"The name's Jessup. You don't look like NCR, so maybe you can help us out here."

"I'll help you, if you help me." Sam said. Jessup seemed puzzled by the statement. "I need you to tell me about the man you were traveling with. He wears a checkered suit. Where is he?"

Jessup swore loudly, and spit to the side. "God damn double crosser was the one that got us into the mess. Ditched as soon as he saw the NCR. By the time we knew what happened, he was off with most of our supplies and caps."

"Tell me where he went, and I'll help you with this NCR problem."

"Al right. This Benny guy lives in New Vegas. Owns a casino, the Tops. He's there right now, sipping a beer and laughing at my Khans and me. Now will you help us?"

Sam nodded. Jessup continued to speak. "I'll let these hostages go. I ain't a god damn Legion fuck. Just let me and my men go. Tell the NCR that. If not, well I guess we're going out fighting."

Sam told him he would be back soon. He rushed back over to the NCR side of town, the eyes of everybody on him. He spoke to the Lieutenant.

"They say in exchange for the hostages, they want to get out of here free. I suggest you take the offer." Sam said. The Lieutenant quickly agreed, and Sam had run back to the Great Khans to tell them the news.

"Damn kid. Thanks. If we ever meet again, what's mine is yours. See yah."

As the Great Khans left, NCR troops glared at them. The Khans were cautious, guns drawn, but lowered. When the air grew less tense as the Khans left, Sam turned to Beth.

"The guy you're looking for, Benny, is in New Vegas. Owns a casino called the Tops." Sam said. He turned to Boone. "Ever been there?"

"Yeah." Boone replied handing Sam his stuff. "Yeah a while ago. With Carla."

Sam and Beth guess "Carla" was his wife that was sold to the Legion. Beth started to ask Boone a question, but decided against it.

"Looks like we're headed for Vegas then." Beth said.


	6. Chapter 6: The Brotherhood of Steel

**Authors Note**

**shadowjohn 101: I didn't hack his terminal either in that quest lol. Unfortunately I read up on Behemoths and they only come from the Super Mutants that come from Vault 87 (Thanks to Lord Kain, I want to write this as realistic to the Fallout world as possible)**

**kistune-demon16: Thank you, I try to update everyday on weekdays, with weekends I try to update at least once. Winter break is coming up for me so I might update 1-2 days in that time.**

**Dark Flygon Naxi: I love ED-E as well, but I think ED-E doesn't come until a few days after doing the Primm quest, and I don't think that they would stay in Primm for more than a day. I do want ED-E to be in the story though. We'll see.**

**Lord Kain: I did read up on the Behemoths after I saw your comment. Thank you for pointing it out before I wrote something about it. In this chapter though I do have hostile Super Mutants, but I introduce the idea of Jacobstown. **

**deadman4: Thank you.**

**Everyone: This chapter is more of a detour chapter. I tend to focus on Sam in most chapters because I find him to be the stronger fighter out of him and Beth. I do have an interesting scene planned for when they get to New Vegas. I'll also try to put the spotlight on Beth and other companions more. Thank you for reading, and enjoy.**

* * *

It was getting close to nighttime, and the group of three was tired. Beth pointed out a set of bunkers, surrounded by a fence.

"We should stay in one of those for the night. I'm not sleeping outside tonight." She said. Sam and Boone agreed, and they headed into the fenced out area. As soon as they did, a sandstorm erupted, blinding all but Sam with his helmet on. Boone had to hold on to his fat and sunglasses. Sam quickly grabbed both of them, and dragged them to the nearest bunker. They all entered, exhausted. Boone was choking on some sand that had gotten in his throat, and Beth was rubbing her eyes furiously. Sam looked around. There were stairs leading down to a larger room, to that they went. A large metal door with an intercom was in front of them. The room was spacious enough for all of them to lay out their bedrolls and backpacks, so they did. They enjoyed a cold dinner of beans, bread, and water.

"Pretty smart idea going here for the night." Sam said sarcastically while taking off his helmet.

"Shut up." Beth replied. "How was I supposed to know a random sandstorm would pop up? It's not like you could do any better."

"It was a joke. Calm down." Sam told her. He tossed aside his empty can of beans and water bottle, and laid down on his bedroll, not bothering to undress out of his armor. He set his helmet next to his head. Boone set his stuff aside as well, and closed his eyes with his back to a wall. Beth put her bedroll in a corner, and fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.

* * *

Sam awoke the instant he heard metal against the floor. Foot steps. He kept his eyes mostly closed, squinting. Power Armor. One of them picked up his sword admiring it. Sam leapt up instantly, tackling the man with his sword. Two more Power Armored men jumped at the sight of him, one accidentally shooting his laser rifle at the ground. The sound woke Boone and Beth instantly. Boone was on his feet instantly, snatching up his scoped hunting rifle and shooting the nearest soldier. The shot didn't penetrate the suit, and the Power Armored foe snatched Boone up, holding him by the throat. Sam, who had been wrestling with one of the Power Armor men, finally stood, sword drawn. There were three of the men wearing Power armor, one of them on the floor next to him, one holding Boone by the throat, and one just engaging Beth. Then he saw something that changed his perspective. On the left shoulder of the man holding Boone was an emblem. A sword over wings and cogs. Brotherhood of Steel.

"Stop!" Sam yelled. The Brotherhood of Steel men looked to him. The one who had been fighting Beth stopped, and picked up a fallen laser rifle, aiming it at Sam. "You guys are Brotherhood right? So am I! Look!"

Sam reached for his bag at his feet, dug inside it until he pulled out a holotag. He tossed it to the Brotherhood soldier holding a laser rifle. The soldier caught it with one hand and looked at it.

"Sam Warwick." The soldier read. It was man's voice. "Knight of the Brotherhood of Steel in the Capital Wasteland. Lyons' Pride. What the fuck is that and what the hell are you doing here?"

"It's a long story, just put your gun down and tell your friend to let go of mine."

The Brotherhood of Steel man lowered his gun, and the one holding Boone dropped him. Boone immediately gasped for breath, clutching his throat.

"Explain."

Sam told him of how he had come to the Mojave, starting with how he left Vault 101. He skipped over unimportant details like side missions he had done to help people. He told him of Project Purity, and how his father had died. Eventually, he told of his battle with the Enclave, how the Brotherhood had won. Finally he explained that he found out that his parents might have originated from Vault 21, here in the Mojave. When he was finished with his tale, the man removed his helmet, revealing him to be a Caucasian male, with a rough beard.

"That's quite a tale you got there. And you know what? I believe you. But who are those two?"

"They're…friends." Sam said. He looked at Beth, who was clutching her stomach where one of the Brotherhood of Steel soldier had punched her. "The woman is Beth, she was a Courier. Then tall one is Boone, he was a 1st Recon Sniper. We were just finding a place to rest for the night and stumbled here."

"Unfortunately for you, and for us…this is the secret headquarters of the Brotherhood of Steel in the Mojave."

"What? Ramos, you can't-" began one of the Brotherhood soldiers. Ramos cut him off.

"I can, and I must. Incase you forgot, I'm a Senior Paladin, also the head of security, therefore, I outrank you. Now unless you want to be demoted, I suggest you shut your mouth."

The Brotherhood soldier stopped talking, reluctantly, clenching their gloved fists. Ramos sighed and addressed Sam again.

"Look I don't know if you found this bunker by mistake, or if you're some kind of NCR spy, but this holotag isn't a fake, I can tell by the way it was made. Do you happen to know Scribe Jameson?" he asked puzzled. Sam nodded. "Thought so. Looks like she made it. I know because she made mine back when the Brotherhood was a merry bunch. Too bad things aren't like that now."

There was a moment of silence. Sam broke the ice by saying,

"So…what now?"

"I'm afraid your two friend will be held in lockdown here. That's the rule against anyone who wanders into the bunkers. You though, are an exception." Ramos said to Sam. "You did wander into here, but you're Brotherhood. I'll have to take you to Elder McNamara. These are tough times for the Brotherhood here I'm afraid."

Beth and Boone both had to hand over all their weapons. Ramos ensured them all that their belongings would be safe, kept personally in his quarters. Beth and Boone were each assigned to empty rooms next to each other, guarded by two Brotherhood Knights at all times. Sam tried to argue for their release, but Boone stopped him.

"Think about it. We're not in any trouble, it's like staying at a hotel or something. We're going to get meals, and you're home free. Just talk to that Elder guy, and see how things play out."

Beth had said nothing, and curled up into a ball on her bed. Sam realized she had probably never been punched by someone wearing Power Armor before. He knew the feeling. The first time he met Sarah Lyons she had punched him for getting in the way of her shot. He looked over his shoulder to check if the Brotherhood Knight was looking, and handed her some Med-X.

"Take it. I'll get us out of this mess, I promise." Sam said. She gave him a smile before injecting the Med-X and going to sleep. Ramos appeared a few seconds later, a large rifle slung over his back. He motioned for Sam to follow him and he did. It was then that he noticed the large rifle slung over his shoulder was a Gauss Rifle. There was only one in the Capital Wasteland, which Sam had in a large safe in his "house" in Megaton.

"Where'd you get that Gauss Rifle?" he asked curiously. Ramos looked at him confused.

"What? They don't have 'em back in the East Coast?" he asked.

"There's one. And I own it." Sam replied. "Most of the Brotherhood use laser rifles and plasma rifles with the occasional heavy trooper using a gatling laser. Snipers of Lyons' Pride use the DKS-501."

"Wow, and you guys took out the Enclave there? Impressive. What's Lyons' Pride? Some kind of special ops group?"

"Sort of. Full of the best of the Brotherhood back there. Sarah Lyons leads us."

"Sarah Lyons? As in Elder Lyon's daughter?"

"Yeah."

"Last I saw of her was when she was a toddler." Ramos remarked.

"Yeah she's a Sentinel too."

"Damn. She must be a helluva a leader then."

"Yeah…she is." Sam said. They had arrived at the Elder's chamber now. Ramos told him to remove his helmet and he complied. Sam expected their Elder to be old, but wise like Elder Lyons. But he was a lot younger than Elder Lyons. His hair was a dark gray, his eyes a piercing blue. He spoke with authority, but didn't sound as caring or patient as Elder Lyons was.

"Ah well hello there. Ramos informs me you're with the Brotherhood in the East. A knight. Do you have news for us? Is the NCR no longer hunting us?"

"Uh…well I don't know sir. I have rather just recently gotten here, but from what I've seen they look pretty preoccupied with the Legion."

"Hm…I see." McNamara said. He scratched his chin. "Ramos has already informed me of your companions. But if you want them to leave freely you must do something for us."

"What do you want me to do?" Sam asked cautiously. He was used to being told one thing, and experiencing something different when helping people.

"Well, uh…there's a place nearby. Called Black Mountain. It's a radio-transmission center. It has electronic countermeasures to protect our underground sanctuary here. Problem is, a large village of violent Super Mutants inhabit it. One of our Paladins went missing when scouting the area out. We suspect Nightkin also reside there. We need you to infiltrate the place, kill everyone, and plat this transmitter on any broadcasting network you can find."

"Rough estimate of how Super Mutants there are?" he asked hopefully.

"Scouts report more than 20. But they also report the Nightkin and Super Mutants seem at unease with each other. They believe a civil war could erupt between the two groups. In any case, we need you to help us. If you do, your friends and you can go free, and do what you please."

"And I'm supposed to do this alone?" Sam asked angrily.

"Of course not. But our bunker is in lockdown. No one in or out except a few individuals. One of our selective few will accompany you. Here name is Veronica. She should be here by now." McNamara said eyeing a clock. As if that was a cue, a woman wearing rough leather clothes entered the room. There was a hood to her outfit, but it was off, showing her black hair tied up. She looked at Sam excitedly.

"Sam, this is Veronica, she'll be the one accompanying you."

"I'm going to need some things if you want me to get this job done." Sam said seriously.

"Of course. Bring it up with Ramos. He'll get anything you need from the armory."

With their conversation over, Ramos, Veronica and Sam left the Elder's chambers. As soon as they left, Veronica stuck her hand out and introduced herself properly.

"My name's Veronica. I'm a journeyman scribe here."

Sam shook her hand, surprised at the strength in her grip.

"I'm Sam." He said. Ramos cleared his throat to get Sam's attention. It worked.

"What will you need to take Black Mountain? I'll go to the armory and get it now."

Sam thought about it for a moment, and decided.

"Veronica, can you wear Power Armor?" he asked. She nodded.

"Two sets of Power armor, a sniper, preferably with a silencer, and explosives." He said. "Lots of explosives."

* * *

It had been too long since he had worn Power Armor. His old T-51b set in the Capital Wasteland had provided him with great protection. This T-51b armor was much newer, and cleaner. It had the Brotherhood of Steel insignia on it as well.

"How do I look?" Veronica asked him. Sam looked at her. She had a Power Fist on his right hand, laser rifle on her back. She had told him she was better at punching things, but he needed long range combat for this mission. She was also decked out completely in Power armor like him. To a wastelander, intimidating. To a Super Mutant, harder to chew humans.

"Intimidating."

"Not so bad yourself. What do you need so much C-4 for?" She asked.

"I have a feeling there's going to be more that a couple of Super Mutants up there."

Sam then remembered. He had no idea what a Nightkin was. He had forgotten to ask the Elder or Ramos on their way out from the Bunker.

"What's a Nightkin?" Sam asked Veronica.

"Scary as hell black Super Mutants. They like turning invisible and smashing your brains out." She replied. "God damn freaks if you ask me."

Sam sighed. This was a problem. Hopefully the Nightkin were as dumb as the Super Mutants. He pulled a DKS-501 sniper rifle from his back fitted with a silencer and night vision scope. He checked his Pip-Boy for the time. 1 o'clock in the morning. He motioned Veronica to get ready. Things were about to get messy. Just then, they heard a voice behind them.

"Don't move." It said. The voice was deep and gruff. "My name is Neil, I'm a Super Mutant. I don't know who you are, but if you're hear to kill my brethren, you're in luck."

Sam risked turning around and looked the Super Mutant in the eye. He seemed genuine.

"Okay. What do you have in mind." He said while Veronica drew her fists in a fighting stance.

"My fellow Super Mutants will be easy to dispose of. But the Nightkin, not so much. Especially at this time. You won't see them until your skull is smashed open. I have a solution." Neil said. "Kill some of the Super Mutants. They'll come after you. Flee farther down the mountain. Your friend and I can ambush them from behind. We can do this until we reach the top of the mountain. Then we'll have to change things up. "

Sam looked to Veronica. She shrugged. They had no other plan.

"Okay." Sam said. "Let's do this."

Neil had several stealth boys on him. He handed some to Veronica, and kept some for himself.

"Took 'em off the Nightkin," he explained. "The stealth boys should help me and your friend take out the Nightkin and Mutants following you."

Sam nodded. Veronica and Neil prepared themselves, ready to activate their stealth boys. Sam fired his sniper. The first bullet exploded a Super Mutants head. One of the Super Mutants came over to the body, one of them didn't even notice. A second shot killed the Super Mutant who had come over to the dead one. Sam managed to get off 2 more shots, one of them killing another Super Mutant, the other hitting one in the arm. Neil and Veronica activated their stealth boys at the sight of a Super Mutant charging Sam. Sam jumped to hit feet from his prone position and began to run. A Nightkin immediately appeared in front of him, trying to block him off. He dodged to the side as a Super Sledge swung down on him. He continued to sprint, with Super Mutants and Nightkin on his tail. Suddenly, he heard the cry of a Super Mutant as Veronica punched it in the spine, caving it in and killing it. Neil snapped the neck of one of the Nightkin, and Sam turned quickly, placing a shot in a Nightkin's skull. The remaining Super Mutant was finished off by a strong uppercut from Veronica.

"That was good." Neil said. "But there are many more small outposts before we reach the summit. Let's go."

Neil lead the way, jogging. Sam and Veronica had to run to keep up. When they reached the next outpost, Neil signaled them to stop and activated another stealth boy. Veronica did the same. Sam began the battle again, putting a bullet into the head of a Super Mutant using a minigun. Two Nightkin appeared instantly, rushing at him with makeshift clubs. Sam managed to take both of them out easily, and reloaded a new clip into his DKS-501. He heard a Nightkin appear from behind, but Neil had his back, tackling the Nightkin to the ground, and breaking his neck. More Super Mutants began coming down from the mountain.

"This is good." Neil said. "The less we'll have to deal with later."

Sam took out several Super Mutants before they gained ground on him, but they did not anticipate Neil and Veronica appearing out of thin air, easily killing them as they went for Sam. When the battle was done, there were over a dozen bodies of Super Mutants and Nightkin on the ground. Sam expressed his concern about more Super Mutnats, but Neil reassured him, saying,

"We've killed most of them already. All there is left are Tabitha and the Nightkin up at the station."

"Who's Tabitha?"

"She's a female Nightkin, and our leader. Their leader." He said correcting himself. They continued up the mountain until they reached a huge crater that made Sam's Pip-Boy Geiger counter tick. He looked down at it, and it displayed the message: Danger Level High.

Sam and Veronica quickly crossed around the crater, with Neil behind him. He called for them to stop when they were about to bound around the corner, where undoubtedly a large gang of Nightkin would be waiting. He whispered to them softly,

"There's a large convoy of Nightkin up ahead. We're not going to be able take 'em head on, they have the high ground."

"What do you suggest?" Sam said in a low voice.

"Activate your stealth boys, sneak up ahead. Use that C-4 you have and plant them all over. We'll kill Tabitha, and when they come running we'll blow them to bits."

"Al right let's do this."

The three of them activated stealth boys and sneaked around the Nightkin. Sam placed C-4 at the entrance and at the joints of a watchtower. He exhausted the rest of his C-4 around the entrance of the radio station and entered. The three of them deactivated their stealth boys, tossing them aside as they were now useless. Neil spoke first, saying,

"Tabitha is upstairs. She's usually talking to herself on the radio. Take her out as quietly as possible. From there we'll take out as many Nightkin possible until blowing them sky high."

The three of them left through a door, and climbed up a flight of stairs behind the station where the Nightkin couldn't see them. There was a door to the top building on the first roof of the station.

"Hand me your sniper." Veronica told Sam. He handed it over with an extra clip of .308 ammo. Veronica handed him a long knife, shorter than his katana, longer than his trench knife. Both of his bladed weapons were back to the Hidden Valley Bunker, stowed with Beth. She also handed him the transmitter her was supposed to put on the broadcasting network.

"We'll start shooting once you get in." Neil said drawing an AK-47 assault rifle from his back. He reloaded a full clip into it. Sam nodded, and entered the second floor of the station. He heard Neil's AK-47 firing. He saw Tabitha across the room, speaking into a ham radio. He ran at full speed, and jumped on her, knife in hand. He had expected the weight of himself and the Power Armor would be enough to weigh her down to the floor so he could stab her. He had underestimated her strength. Tabitha reacted quickly, grabbing him off her back and throwing him into a wall. He smashed into it, causing the wall to crack. He lost his grip on the knife and it skidded away.

"Puny human try to interrupt me and Rhonda! Puny human die!"

Sam just managed to move out of the way before Tabitha smashed into the wall he had been before, making more cracks in the wall. Tabitha turned to have Sam's fist smash into her face. The strength the Power Armor gave him enough force behind the punch to knock out a few of the Nightkin's teeth. He looked around for the knife he had dropped. There, in the corner of the room! He lunged for it, felt the handle, and was then tackled by Tabitha to the ground. He had a second to look up before the Nightkin punched him in the face. His armored helmet softened the blow, but he still felt the impact of it as his head slammed into the ground. Tabitha punched him again, and he realized he was still holding the long knife. As she punched a second time, he brought up the knife, and the Nightkin impaled her fist on the blade. Tabitha howled in pain and Sam pushed her off of himself. Tabitha wrenched the knife from her hand and threw it aside. The two glared at each other for a moment. Everything was quiet. Then the C-4 exploded. The floor beneath them shook, and Tabitha lost her footing. She tried to regain it, but Sam punched her in the gut, hard. The Nightkin doubled over and fell on the floor. Sam picked up the fallen knife, twirling it once before stabbing it straight into the head of Tabitha. He heard gunshots from outside the room. Veronica and Neil. Wearily, he attached the Brotherhood of Steel transmitter to the network of the radio station. He could taste blood in his mouth. He took off the T-51b Power Armor helmet and tossed it aside, while spitting out blood. He checked if he had lost any teeth. There were none missing. Satisfied, he exited the room. He saw Veronica had tossed aside the sniper rifle, and had chosen to finish off the remaining Nightkin with her Power Fist. Neil's assault rifle was also abandoned. He leapt off the roof, letting the strength of the Power Armor cushion his fall. Veronica came up to him, removing her helmet, revealing a smile.

"One heck of a battle. What happened to you?" she said.

"That 'Tabitha' packed a helluva punch." He replied. He looked around. "Where's Neil?"

"The Super Mutant? Said he had to get something and that he'd be right back."

As if on queue, Neil appeared out of a smaller building next to the radio station with a ghoul next to him. He approached Sam and spoke.

"Finally…this place can rest in peace. Here's my friend, Raul." He said indicating to the ghoul. Sam nodded, and stuck his hand out. The ghoul shook it eagerly.

"You saved me…I'll never forget that." The ghoul said. Sam turned to Neil.

"Where will you go now?" Sam asked.

"Jacobstown. It's where I wanted to be all along. Hopefully Marcus is still there."

Sam guessed Marcus was a fellow Super Mutant. He stuck out his hand for Neil as well.

"Where's that?" Sam asked.

"In the mountains. It's...a peaceful place for us. Super Mutants that it. If you ever decide to come there, I'll be there." Neil replied.

"Well, it was nice meeting you." Sam said. The Super Mutant took his hand, careful not to squeeze too hard.

"Likewise."

And with that, the Super Mutant and ghoul left, leaving Veronica and Sam to themselves.

"We should probably head back to the Bunker." Sam said. Veronica nodded.

"You're an interesting person aren't you?" Veronica asked. When he didn't answer, she continued. "I mean, not many people would trust a Super Mutant or shake their hand."

Sam continued to be silent as they walked back to the Bunker, sun rising over their heads.


	7. Chapter 7: Phoenix

**Authors Note**

**Desertstar87: I don't know. I want to recruit everyone, but I don't think it'd make sense to randomly recruit Lily or Raul in Jacobstown. Who knows? I do plan on getting Cass eventually, maybe even throwing in someone who's usually not a companion. **

**Dark Flygon Naxi: I have a good idea planned out for ED-E. I'm going to get him/her maybe in the chapter after the next one. **

**Everyone: I have big things planned for the next chapter, but before that I must ask you all for an answer. Should our group recruit Arcade? Rex and ED-E are definite companions that I will try and put in. I decided not to get Veronica, at least not yet. Leave a review/comment about it. I also go into a little detail about Sam's past in this chapter. I leave the ending a little badly, only because I need an answer before I continue. I also intend on adding guns not usually available in New Vegas. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks for reading, enjoy.**

**

* * *

**

Boone and Beth stared at Sam in wonder as he entered their room, wearing dented Power Armor, with blood oozing from wounds on his face. He gave them a weak grin.

"What happened to you?" Boone asked. His voice was still gruff, and emotionless.

"If you think this is bad you should see the other guy. I mean other guys." He said. He chuckled at his own joke, wincing as he felt the pain of one of his broken ribs.

"Ha ha." A voice said from behind him. It was Veronica. "Come on. Let's report to the Elder so your friends can get out of here."

Sam and Veronica left Beth and Boone to themselves. Beth turned to Boone.

"The hell? You'd think he'd be in the medical wing of this place or something, not trotting around in Power Armor."

"He's pretty damn tough." Agreed Boone. "The only people I know who can take that much shit and still walk are Fiends hyped up on Med-X."

"Speaking of Med-X you got anymore?"

Boone dug in the First-Aid box on the wall and pulled out a syringe of Med-X. He paused before giving it to her.

"You sure you're not getting addicted to this stuff? I mean-"

"Trust me, I'm not addicted. Just give it to me, my stomach still hurts."

Boone handed her the syringe cautiously, and watched as she injected it into herself. He shook his head and laid down on his bed before falling to sleep.

* * *

"You have proven yourself to be quite the asset to us." McNamara said. "We're receiving signals from the transmitter you put in the broadcasting network. You have all of the Brotherhood's thanks for this."

"So can me and my friends leave now?" Sam asked.

"Yes. You and your friends may leave. Also, if you ever need a place for the night, or for days, you may visit the Brotherhood Safe House. Ramos will mark it on your Pip-Boy for you." McNamara said.

"Thank you, Elder." Sam said. He turned away to Ramos as he led him out of the Elder's chamber.

"You look like hell." Ramos said. Sam noticed Ramos wasn't leading him back to Beth and Boone's quarters. He was leading him to a large white room. Over the entrance of the room were the words: Infirmary. Sam stopped.

"I don't need to go the infirmary. I'm fine."

"Damn, I don't know what missions they sent you on back in the Capital Wasteland, but usually after missions like you just did, our soldiers get a break and a trip to the infirmary for patch ups."

Sam knew he wouldn't win the fight, so he agreed to go to the infirmary. The doctor, a woman named Doctor Bilik. She forced him to remove the T-51b Power Armor, as well as the recon armor that went on underneath it, leaving him wearing nothing but his gray boxers. She was surprised when she saw no injuries, just dried blood. She looked at him strangely.

"I told you, I was fine." Sam said pulling up the pants of the recon armor. Ramos' hand went to Sam's shoulder.

"What the hell man? You some kind of super hero?"

"Phoenix." Sam replied. He shrugged off Ramos' hand and continued to dress.

"What?" Doctor Bilik asked. Sam stopped dressing and looked at both of them.

"When I was a kid, living in Vault 101, my dad did something to me." Sam began.

* * *

September 17th, 2275

Vault 101

Medical Clinic

Sam could only see bright lights. He thought he heard Amata's voice, as well as his father's.

"It was Butch and the Tunnel Snakes. They were getting physical, and Sam came in and stopped them."

"I can guess by Butch and Paul Hannon in the other room that he did a good job?"

"Damn it Mr. Warwick, this isn't time for jokes. Is he going to be okay?"

James gazed over the injured body of his son. His head was bloody, and had a large, deep cut over his chest. He looked over at Amata.

"Tell me exactly what happened."

"I was in the classroom alone, helping Mr. Brotch with some papers. The Tunnel Snakes came in, telling him something about pipes in his room. He left immediately. They tried to…you know." Amata said. James nodded. "There were three of them. I…I couldn't do anything. Then Sam came in. He punched Butch, and then Wally. Paul Hannon hit him to the ground, but he got up and slammed his face into a desk. Butch pulled out a switchblade, and cut him across the chest. But Sam kept on going. He disarmed Butch and punched him in the face. Then Wally hit him over the head with a chair."

James nodded calmly. Sam was always getting into trouble with the Tunnel Snakes. He had almost taken out Butch's eye with a BB gun once. When the Overseer questioned him why, he had just said Butch deserved it.

"Amata, I think you should leave, visit him in the morning. He's been through a lot."

Amata wiped away a tear and left without another word. James turned to his son, not knowing his was slightly conscious.

"One day son, you might not live in this Vault anymore." James muttered as he rummaged through a drawer, and pulled out surgical tools, as well as a small item that looked like a computer chip. "Until then you're just going to have to deal."

Through a black eye, he could barely make out words on the small computer chip-like item. Phoenix Monocyte Breeder. He felt relaxed as Med-X was injected into his body, and fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

"I don't know what I did to me, other than since it happened I'm a walking talk. I heal up cuts and broken bones easily. Just takes time."

"Phoenix Monocyte Breeder is a type of implant." Doctor Bilik said. "Are you sure?"

"As sure as you can get while half conscious squinting through a black eye."

"I'm guessing that's not very sure then. But the Phoenix Monocyte Breeder usually provides the person implanted with faster cell regeneration."

"I'm guessing it's usually not this fast…" Ramos muttered.

"So am I cleared to go now?"

"I guess. Let's head up to my office to get your belongings."

Sam used a wet towel to wipe off the blood on his face and left the T-51b Power Armor in the clinic, as he didn't need it anymore. He would probably get shot as well, as he learned from Ramos that the Mojave Brotherhood of Steel had troubled relations with the NCR. Sam retrieved his backpack and immediately undressed and redressed in his Chinese Stealth Suit. He felt more comfortable in his reliable armor. He kept the helmet off, tucking it under his arm. He looked for Beth and Boone's belongings but didn't find them.

"I had somebody go down and deliver their stuff already." Ramos explained. "They're waiting for you at the entrance."

Sam nodded. Ramos escorted him to the bunker's entrance where Beth and Boone were waiting for him. Sam put on his helmet with an audible click as it connected with the rest of his suit. The trio was about to leave before Ramos called for Sam. He sprinted to them, holding something in his hand. He handed it to Sam. Brotherhood of Steel Holotags. Sam glanced at it. They were his old Holotags, with one thing changed. Where it had said "Knight" before it now said "Paladin". He looked up at Ramos.

"A parting gift from me to you, so that when you get back to the Capital Wasteland you can say hi to Jameson for me."

"Thank you." Sam said. He slipped the Holotags into his backpack.

"If you ever need somewhere to stay for the night, check in to the Brotherhood safehouse, Paladin Sato is usually there and he has a knack for fixing things."

The trio left the bunker, and Beth hooded her eyes as the sunlight hit them. Sam checked his Pip-Boy for the time. 10:24 am.

"What did you do for them?" Beth asked Sam. Boone remained silent, but listened intently.

"Cleared out some Super Mutants and Nightkin for them." He replied. He continued walking north in the direction of New Vegas. Beth and Boone were closely behind him.

"That was during the night." Beth stated. "You have to be at least a little tired, don't you?"

"Maybe. You guys got any Jet on you?" Sam asked. Boone dug in his pack and pulled out a red inhaler and tossed it to Sam. Sam removed his helmet and took a deep inhale of the drug. He was careful not to take it in all at once. When he was done with the inhaler he tossed it to the ground.

"That's it? Just take a little Jet and you'll be fine?" Beth asked annoyed. "What about those injuries you had all over your face? I bet there were some on other parts of your body as well."

"It was just dried Super Mutant blood." He lied. "And if you want to check you can." He added. Beth flushed and stopped talking. They walked in silence for almost an hour before Boone broke the silence.

"We're close to Camp McCarran." He said. "We can restock on goods there and head to Vegas from there."

* * *

Camp McCarran was a NCR military base. There was still time in the day, so they looked around for work. Sam and Beth volunteered to help interrogate and prisoner, a Legion Centurion. The original interrogator, a woman named Lieutenant Boyd explained to them the NCR doesn't allow torture of prisoners. But because both of them were not affiliated with the NCR, Boyd could use them. Sam and Beth both decided Sam would do the punching, and Beth would do the talking. They were both stripped of their weapons before they could enter the room. The Legion Centurion, Silus was a large Caucasian male, with black hair swept out of his face. He was still wearing his armor. He watched the two with cold calculating eyes. Beth spoke.

"Well, well. The Lieutenant gives me two worms to have fun with. Tell me woman, who is this man? Your husband? I'll take you on this floor in front of him." Sneered Silus.

Sam moved quickly, fist connecting with Silus' unarmored face. The Centurion spit out a gob of blood to the side. Silus laughed.

"What did the Legion do to you two? Burn your families? Kill them while you watched helplessly?"

"I was there at Nipton." Beth said. "I know what you bastards do. But I also know you have honor, and would die in battle. How about you? Are you a gutless coward who is afraid of death?"

"I'll show you who's afraid of death." Silus snarled. He jumped from his seat, and although his hands were bound, he almost succeeded in tackling Beth to the ground. She stepped aside however, and Sam picked the Centurion up by the plates of his armor and slammed his head into a wall. He didn't pass out however, but merely laughed again.

"You won't get anything out of me you swine. You call me a coward? I've led charges against men wielding guns with nothing but my knife, and it was them who were afraid."

"Why not kill yourself? Why be captured by the NCR?" Beth pressed.

Sam placed the injured Silus back on the chair. He didn't speak, but glared at him from behind his polarized orange visor.

"Suicide shows you are weak. It tells them if you are captured, you will be broken."

"So if you can't go through with it, you'll look even weaker."

"I'm not going to kill myself for some self-appointed dictator. Caesar's is getting old. He's losing it." Silus said. "He complains of his headaches, it is his weakness. We waited three days for him to dispatch us for my mission. He just complained of his headaches."

"So why follow him? Help us and we'll help you."

"It doesn't matter. You'll all burn when the Legion comes. Legate Lanius is…a monster."

"Tell us." Beth said. Sam cracked his knuckles, and Silus sighed.

"There's an operative stationed here. I thought when I got captured he would help break me out, but apparently not. He's not new here either. Been stationed here for awhile."

"What's his name?" Beth asked.

"I don't know. He sends intelligence reports through radio at night."

"I think you're lying." Beth said. Sam prepared to punch him again.

"You can beat me until I die, but that's all I know."

Just then, Lieutenant Boyd entered the room.

"Good work you two. Meet me back outside." She said turning. The two followed her out of the room and were reunited with their weapons. Boyd handed them a bag full of caps.

"300 caps. Don't spend it all in one sitting."

The two left the room and tried to find Boone. He was nowhere to be found. The two enjoyed a meal of Brahmin steak and Nuka-Cola. They were surprised when they saw Boone return, wearing NCR armor. It was different than any they had previously seen however. It had many pockets and pouches on it, presumably for storage. He sat down with them, chewing on Iguana Bits on a stick. He whispered softly to them.

"I've been looking around. Heard you two had the chance to interrogate a Legion Centurion. A little disappointed I didn't get to do it." Boone said. He took a long drink out of a beer in his hand.

"We didn't kill him either." Beth said. She too took a drink, but out of her Nuka-Cola.

"Shame." Boone said. "Anyways, Lieutenant Boyd told Hsu about some undercover Legion operative here. Must be ranked high up. So I volunteered to help. Whoever it is breaks in to the control tower every night. They're never caught though."

"What are we going to do about it?" Sam asked.

"I'm going to need one of you to sneak up into the tower right now, and wait until someone enters. When they do, listen in on whatever they're saying, and report back."

"I'll do it." Sam said. He pushed himself off the chair he was sitting in and left the table. It left Boone and Beth alone. For a while they were silent, both chewing their food.

"Who do you think it is?" Beth asked.

"It can't be Boyd. She wouldn't turn herself in like that. I'm guessing its Hsu or Captain Curtis." Boone said.

"Where did you get the armor from?" she said gesturing to his new armor.

"Gave it to a friend before I went to Novac with Carla. Held on to it for me." He said. She noticed he also had a new hunting rifle. There were 3 tally marks in the barrel.

"What about your new rifle?"

"You ask a lot of questions don't you?" Boone said. When she didn't answer, Boone continued. "This is the rifle I used at Bittersprings. I'm sure you've heard of what happened at Bittersprings."

Beth shook her head. Either her memory of it was gone, or she really didn't remember.

"Let's just say it was a massacre. A lot of people died. One of the tally marks on my rifle is for there."

"What about the others?"

"First one was my first kill with it. A Fiend, not too bright either. The third…" he said pausing. "The third was when I killed my wife."

"What? Why'd you do that?"

"In the 1st Recon, they tell you to just shoot. If they have hostages, shoot them it's a mercy killing. The Legion had Carla. I…I had too."

"I'm sorry." Beth said. She reached out for him but he sat up and moved away from her hand.

"Don't be." He said before turning and leaving.

Sam checked his Pip-Boy for the time. 12:55 pm. Where was the intruder? As if on queue, the door down the stairs creaked open. Sam quickly turned invisible, and flattened himself against a wall. The intruder was cautious, looking around the room for anyone. Sam felt a shiver up his spine as the intruder's eyes past over him, but didn't see him. The intruder sat in a chair next to a radio, speaking into a microphone.

"Broadcasting, 747511 tonight will be the night it happens. The monorail is set to blow. A great victory for Caesar. My cover is not blown, the NCR is also stretched thin with it's own problems."

Sam couldn't hear the response to the intruder on the radio, but he memorized his face, as well as his armor and ranking on it. He tried to be as silent as possible exiting the tower, and immediately started sprinting. He met Boone halfway on his way to the monorail.

"What? Did you find out who it is?" Boone questioned.

"No time to explain, monorail is going to blow, we need to get there now!" Sam said. The two of them sprinted towards the monorail. They arrived and found the door to the first car were open. They went inside the monorail, and scanned the seats and walls for anything explosive. Then, Boone saw it.

"There! To your left, in that small vent!"

Sam whirled around, and pried open the small vent. There was a switch that read: On/Off. It was set on the on selection. A red light beeping must've meant it was primed and ready to blow. He flicked the switch to off, but the red light was still beeping.

"What the fuck do we do?" Sam asked Boone throwing his hands up. Boone pushed him aside, and saw beneath the switch was a small latch. He flipped the latch up, revealing a number pad.

"Did you overhear any numbers when you were listening in on the guy?"

"I don't know, he said something about broadcasting but I don't remember!"

"You might want to step off the monorail then." Boone said. He took out a screwdriver and began unscrewing bolts on the bomb. It revealed a set of red, blue, and black wires. He took a handful of them and pulled. The red light stopped flashing, and turned dead. Sam realized he had been holding his breath and let it out.

"Damn, that was pretty close." Boone said wiping the sweat off his forehead. The two stood in silence for a moment, unsure. "We should tell Hsu about the bomb. Do you know who did it?"

"I don't know his name, but I got close enough so I could see him. I think he was a Captain, has black hair and wears a beret like you, but not red."

"I think you're talking about Captain Curtis. Doesn't matter. Let's just go to Hsu and get a good nights rest." Boone said resignedly. Sam agreed, and the two walk together to Hsu's office. On the way, they met Beth.

"Where have you guys been? Been looking everywhere for you two! Did you find out who the person breaking in was?"

"We're about to report to Hsu right now." Boone said. He marched ahead of her, leaving Sam with her.

"I found a little…problem with us going to New Vegas." Beth told him.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"We either need a passport to get in to the Strip, or 2000 caps. Minimum."

Sam groaned. Other than the 300 caps they had earned today, they only had around a hundred between them. That left them at 1600 caps short.

"We don't need to pay them 2000 caps, we just need to show them, you know so they know we're serious about gambling."

"Al right how do you suppose we get 1600 more caps?"

"Well I'm sure Camp McCarran has more to offer than a few odd jobs. We could take up bounties."

"Al right, let's talk about it when Boone comes back."

Boone arrived back to them a few minutes later holding a bag jingling with caps. He tossed it to Sam, who caught it.

"Heard you guys all the way down to Hsu's office. If we're going to get into New Vegas, we're going to need to do some jobs around here, get some caps. That's 350 right there." Boone said.

"Al right so that leaves us at…" Beth said doing the math in her head. "1250 caps short give or take a few."

"I think we should do some bounties around here, I hear that Major Dhatri wants some Fiends dead."

"It's a good start. If we still need more caps I'm sure we can do more work to get some. For now, let's go find a place to rest for the night." Sam said.

"There's a motel across from here where a couple of chem addicts usually hang. I'm sure we can find an unused room there."

Most of the rooms were used by chem addicts, so Sam and Boone had to pry open a boarded up door to get a room. It was less than a satisfactory place to sleep, but they rolled out their bedrolls and slept.

* * *

When Beth awoke both Boone and Sam were gone. There was a note pinned to the door.

"Boone and I are taking out the bounties. Be back here by 8 in the afternoon, but don't do anything stupid"

-Sam

His handwriting was neatly printed on a square piece of paper. She looked around the room and found a bottle of water and a can of pork and beans on a table. She picked up the water, ignoring the pork and beans. She was tired of eating old, canned food. Beth decided she would go to Freeside. She reached in her backpack, bellow her supplies and clothes and found a syringe of Med-X. She gave herself a stab from it and injected the fluids of the syringe into her system, and enjoyed a quick feeling of calm and relaxation. She got dressed into her leather armor, which was covered in blood and tearing at some places. She would have to see about getting it repaired, or even getting new armor. She decided on not wearing it, and stripped it off, putting on a white tank top and jeans. She pulled on her boots and tied them, and slipped her .357 magnum Lucky into her right pocket, putting the rest of her items inside her pack. As she entered Freeside, three men immediately came to her.

"Hey babe need an escort through Freeside?"

"Girl, you want an escort through Freeside?"

"Baby I can give you an escort through Freeside!"

She ignored them. If anything came her way, she could handle herself. She saw a building with the words: The King's inside the shaped of a guitar. She saw one man outside standing next to the door with his arms crossed over his chest. His hair was covered in gel, up in a hairstyle she had recognized from one of the people who offered her escort through Freeside. She approached him.

"Can I go in?" she asked. He curtly nodded.

"Talk to Pacer." He said.

She had no idea who "Pacer" was, but entered regardless. As she entered a man approached her. He was dressed different from the man outside, but spoke funny, and had the same hairstyle.

"You here to see the King?" the man asked.

"Uh…sure." Beth said.

"300 caps or get out of here." Said the man roughly. Beth guessed he was used to extorting people's money to see this "King". Beth wasn't carrying 300 caps on her though. She had less than 100 in her pockets.

"You sure I need to pay to see him?" she challenged. Just then the door behind the man opened.

"Pacer! What're you doing charging a fine lady like this? Get out of here." Said a man. His clothes were different from the people around him, but he spoke just the same with more authority. His hair was gelled as well. Pacer grumbled off, stuffing his hands into his pockets. The man who told him off addressed Beth.

"Why hello there. My name's the King. What brings you to me today?" said the man known as the King. Beth shrugged.

"I don't know. Bored I guess. I've never seen a place like this before." She said. The King chuckled and smiled.

"If you're up to it, you could do a favor for me in return for payment." Said the King.

"Sure. What do you want?"

"There's a bodyguard here in Freeside. His name is Orris. People have been hiring him all the time over other bodyguards. That's a problem."

"Al right, what do you want me to do?"

"Find out what makes him so popular. Expose him. Do whatever you need to do. Here are a few caps to buy his service." The King said. He gestured to one of the King's members who handed him a small sack jingling with caps. He gave it to her.

"This man, Orris wears metal armor, that's what makes him different from other bodyguards. Look for him." The King said. Beth told him she would and left, in search of Orris.

* * *

Sam and Boone had decided to split up the bounties. They would each do one of the three from Major Dhatri, and meet back for the third. Boone had volunteered for Cook-Cook, while Sam had decided to go for Violet. Between Boone's rifle, the Fiends didn't have a chance. He had killed two Fiends quickly before 5 more rushed him. Cook-Cook ha an Incinerator and shot large molten balls of fire down at him. They were easy to dodge, and he jumped behind the ruins of a wall as the fireballs hit the ground where he had previously been. One Fiend made the mistake of rushing straight at him with a pool cue. He ran into a frag mine that Boone had previously placed. Two more shots took care of two more Fiends. Only 4 left. He jumped around the corner, firing two quick shots before jumping behind another crumbling wall. He heard the satisfying sound of Fiends cursing as two more of their comrades fell. He pulled a grenade out of one of the many pockets in his armor, primed it and threw it over his shoulder. The grenade landed between the legs of Cook-Cook and his friend. They both exploded, leaving one Fiend left. The Fiend's feet were stuck to the ground. Within a matter of minutes, the man had taken out Cook-Cook and the rest of the Fiends. The Fiend had time to look up once before his head exploded.

* * *

Sam eyed Violet from a distance. There were 5 dogs, all patrolling the set of trailers that Violet was walking on. Sam aimed with his hunting rifle, for her left breast, where her heart was. He fired, but didn't wait to confirm the kill. He bolted back the rifle, shooting again at a dog. He was able to kill one more dog before the rest rushed him. By then he had pulled his katana from the sheath on his back. The rest of the dogs went down in quick slashes. He wiped the blood from the sword before sheathing it, drawing his combat knife to cut off the head of Violet. It was gruesome, but he didn't care. It had been a long time since he had even thought about whom he killed.

* * *

Sam and Boone met back at Camp McCarran, both holding bloody heads in their hands. Boone nodded to Sam.

"What'd you kill her with?" Boone asked.

"Hunting Rifle. Took care of her dogs with my katana." He said. "You?"

"Took him out with a grenade. Didn't realize he'd be wearing metal armor. I didn't bring armor piercing rounds."

The two were given looks as they crossed the set of tents to Major Dhatri. He was surprised when he saw them.

"Well done! Violet and her dogs have killed plenty of our soldiers. Cook-Cook as well."

The two accepted 250 caps each, slipping the pouches of caps into their backpacks.

"Who's next?" Sam asked.

"You two have done a lot already. Don't you think you should-"

"Who's. Next." Sam said again. The Major sighed and shook his head.

"Driver Nephi. Damn son of a bitch. Whenever we think we've killed him he just turns up again and smashes in one of our troop's heads with that driver of his."

"We'll take care of it. Tell us where he is." Boone said.

"Some ruins south-west of here." Major Dhatri said.

The two began to leave to finish off the last Fiend, but were stopped by a short man wearing a 1st Recon beret like Boone.

"I-I-I heard you killed Cook-Cook." Stuttered the man. Boone raised an eyebrow but said nothing. The man continued to speak. "C-Corporal B-Betsy w-w-was raped by him."

"I don't see how this concerns us. He's dead now." Sam said.

"I-I'm asking y-you to help c-convince her to g-get help." Stuttered the little man again. Sam sighed. He gestured for Boone to go on ahead. The little man called out again.

"W-wait! L-l-let me come with you!" he shouted to Boone. Sam saw Boone stop, and continue walking. The little man followed him.

It didn't take long to find Betsy. She was wearing a 1st Recon beret as well as shades. He came up to her.

"Cook-Cook is dead." He said simply. She looked at him for a moment and spoke back.

"Damn. Wanted to do that myself." She cursed.

"Look, I heard what happened. You should get some medical help." Sam said. Betsy looked like she was going to punch him.

"I don't need help." She said angrily. Sam sighed.

"You're only hurting yourself and your team." He told her. Her facial expression changed as he said it.

"Hurting the team?" she whispered. "Okay. Fine. I'll go to the New Vegas medical clinic. I guess the Doctor there can help me."

"This is a good first step Betsy." Sam told her.

"Hope I don't regret it. Here, take this. For taking out Cook-Cook." Said Betsy. She handed him a stack of NCR dollar bills. Before he could say she should keep it, she left.

* * *

Boone had to admit, the little guy was a good shot. They had fired at the Fiends from a distance, taking out Driver Nephi first. The rest of the Fiends were slow, and no match for Boone and the man. When they were done, Boone cut off Nephi's head with a combat knife. The man picked up his golf club.

"What's your name kid?" Boone said as he picked up the head of Driver Nephi.

"M-m-my name's not important." He said. "But t-t-they call me t-ten of spades."

Boone raised an eyebrow. "Ten?"

"I wanted to be A-a-ace, but they said I'm too green. M-m-maybe one day I'll be King. I-I think I-I'll skip Q-queen though." He said smirking. Boone said nothing, and the two walked back to Camp McCarran.

* * *

Beth watched as Orris gunned down three thugs. At least, that's what it looked like. There had been three thugs, Orris had shot two bullets.

"How'd you kill the third one?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?" Orris said. He looked nervous.

"You shot two bullets. They're three dead." Beth said.

"I guess I got lucky?" he said. Beth could tell he was near the point of confession.

"I suggest you leave Freeside and give me my money back. Before I rat out your secret." Beth said. Orris nodded, tossing a bag of caps to the ground. The "dead" thugs stood up. They left quickly. She checked her Pip-Boy for the time. It was only noon. She went back to The Kings and report to the King.

"Orris has been dealt with. You won't have any trouble with him anymore." Beth said.

"Good work honey. I got another problem. There's been some people beating up my people, you get? Anyways, check in at the Old Mormon fort. Followers of Apocalypse are there." the King said.

"I'll see to them." Beth said. The King waved to her before she walk out, heading to the Old Mormon fort.


	8. Chapter 8: The Black Ghost

**Author's Note**

**Sorry about the delay on this one, I know I said everyday, but it is winter break where I live, and I've been relaxing and not worrying about school. I've also played the Dead Money DLC for Fallout New Vegas. Personally I would rate it 3/5, just because of bugs I ran into while playing it. Fallout New Vegas is one of the buggiest RPGs I've played to be honest. Don't let that dissuade you from buying it though. It very much adds to the story of new Vegas with insight on the Mojave Brotherhood (Spoiler?)**

**Desertstar87: I'm still wondering how to get Cass in. I was going to do it in this chapter, but decided against it. **

**yrwelikthis: I'm afraid Ten of Spades is out of the question, but I do agree he's quite cool.**

**rovedbaxster: Yes Arcade will be a yes. I was debating it, and then realized I could explore the Enclave with him, bring up some stuff with Sam as well. **

**TiredTired: I decided to bring in Arcade, reasons mentioned above. Sorry, but you can't please everyone :)**

**Dark Flygon Naxi: I will include the Remnants through Arcade eventually, as I quite like the Remnants.**

**deadman4: I will not be giving anyone the Chinese Stealth suits, though I might include it somewhere.**

**Everyone: I am trying to make the chapters longer, instead of more chapters. Let me know what you think. The next chapter will have a Texas Hold'em poker scene, which I have been DYING to put it. The scene will include Benny, Vulpes Incluta, Beth, and Sam, representing himself, the Legion, Mr. House, and the NCR, respectively. Don't ask too much about it, I have it planned out. Thank you for reading, enjoy.**

**

* * *

**

Sam and Boone waited at the small apartment room for Beth. She was nowhere to be found. Together, Boone and Sam had collected a total of 1000 caps after collecting the bounties as well as exchanging the money Betsy had given Sam for caps. That left them at around 200 caps short of their goal. They could always sell some guns for more caps however. Boone had gone back to being his silent, emotionless self again, which left Sam bored, changing his Pip-Boy display colors back and forth, deciding to go with white eventually. He had taken off his helmet and left it on the table where there was still a can of pork and beans. He checked his Pip-Boy for the time. 8:37 pm. Sam had started to get worried, but then he saw her burst through the door, holding 4 pieces of paper in her hand. Someone was behind her, wearing a white lab coat. He had short blonde hair, with glasses. Boone and Sam immediately raised their guns.

"Put your guns down. This is Arcade. I convinced him to join our little party." Beth said smiling. Sam looked to Boone, who was still aiming his gun at Arcade. Sam lowered his and Boone did the same.

"We're going to need some place to stay if we're going to keep having people join us Beth." Sam said.

"This is all it's going to be for now." She promised. Sam nodded, and went over to Arcade, sticking his hand out. Arcade shook his hand, looking at the Chinese Stealth Armor with interest.

"My name's Sam." He said. Arcade turned to Boone, but he stay slouched against the wall, gazing down at Arcade from behind his sunglasses.

"Boone." He said tonelessly.

"Great! Now that we know each other I have some good news." Beth said. Sam raised an eyebrow. "I was in Freeside the whole day, helping out some people called the Kings. I met Arcade along the way. We settled an NCR dispute with them and managed to get them to agree to a treaty. In turn for helping them, the King gave me passports to the Strip!"

She held up the four piece of paper. Then, Sam realized they were little hand booklets labeled: Passport.

"So Boone and I just spent the whole day killing Fiends for nothing?" Sam asked.

"Not for nothing." Boone said quietly. Sam realized he was right. They did a good thing today, he realized. Without leadership from Cook-Cook, Violet, and Driver Nephi, the Fiends would be in disarray.

"If I may inquire, what DO you guys do?" Arcade asked suddenly. Beth turned to him.

"Sam and Boone are along for the ride. We're looking for the guy who shot me." Beth said.

"And who are you guys with? The NCR?" he asked.

"No. We're not with them. Though Sam here-" Beth said pointing to him. "Is with the Brotherhood."

Arcade shook his head, as if Sam were a bad kid who needed to be kept in line by his parents.

"The Brotherhood horde technology. I'm surprised someone smart like you would travel with someone like him." Arcade said to Beth. Sam grew angry. He lunged at Arcade, grabbing him by his shirt, picked him up and slammed him against the wall.

"I don't know what the Brotherhood here in the Mojave do. But in the Capital Wasteland, they were heroes. They could've ran back to the West as soon as they found the technology they were looking for. But they didn't. They stayed and helped the people in need. So get it through your thick head that you can't judge people by their associates." Sam growled. He let go of Arcade and grabbed his helmet, putting it on and opening the door to the apartment room they were in. He turned invisible, and stomped off into the distance. Beth turned to go after him, but Boone stopped her.

"Leave him, he'll come back." The grizzled sniper said. Beth ignored him and pushed past his hand, chasing after Sam.

* * *

The night air was cool and crisp. Sam removed his helmet and took a big gulp of the air. He thought about what had just happened, and how he had let his anger get the better of him. He spit to his side, disgusted. For a few minutes, he just stood there, looking up into the night sky. He remembered when it had been so simple. Go to the Mojave, find Vault 21, learn about his parents. He wondered why he had followed Beth in the first place. There was something…different about her than the other people he had met in the Mojave.

"Are you okay?" she asked uncertainly. He sighed.

"I guess." Sam said.

"Well…tomorrow we're going to head on in to the Strip. If you still want to come with us…" Beth's voice trailed off. Sam sighed and looked into the sky again. His eyes began to water, but he sucked it up and turned back to Beth.

"I think I'm going to go." Sam said. The news hit Beth hard. She was shocked.

"But Vault 21 is in the Strip!" she pleaded. "You can come with me and we could-"

"No Beth. I'm sorry. I need time to think. Do things by myself for a while." Sam said. Beth stood there, eyes gazing up at him. For a moment they stood still under the moon. And then Sam pushed past her and walked back to the apartment room. Beth stood there silently, as she watched him go.

Sam entered the room, immediately packing his things. His bedroll was stuffed in first, along with some bottles of water and food being shoved in afterwards. He also shoved in ammo for his Blackhawk and hunting rifle. He tried to pack as quickly as possible, avoiding gazes from Boone and Arcade.

* * *

"You leaving?" Boone's voice asked. Sam turned to him and nodded. Boone tossed him something. A sack. It made a jingling noise as it flew threw the air into Sam's hand. Sam opened it, revealing the caps the two had made.

"Are you sure?" Sam asked. There were over 1000 caps in the sack. Boone nodded.

"You're going to need it more than me." Boone said. He reached to the table, and pulled a passport from the stack that was on the table. He handed it to Sam. "Might as well take this too."

Sam nodded, and the two shook hands. He ignored Arcade in the corner of the room, and slung his backpack over his shoulder, and left the room, not knowing what he would be looking for.

After a couple hours of wandering he finally decided on heading to Freeside. He wasn't sure about it at first, but realized he needed a place to stay, as it was still nighttime. He ended up wandering into the Kings. He found it funny how they all dressed, talked, and looked the same. The King had greeted him as he walked in.

"Well look who we have here!" The King said enthusiastically. Sam looked confused.

"Um…who are you?" Sam asked. The Kings members laughed at his remark. The King silenced them with a wave of his hand.

"The name's the King. What're you here for?"

"My name is Sam. I kind of need a place to sleep for the night." Sam said. His remark made the King's laugh again.

"Son, you best be headed for the Atomic Wrangler, get a girl to go with your bed while you're at it eh?" the King said. The Kings once again laughed wildly. Sam was starting to get annoyed. "Although, if you're in for some caps and a room for the night you could help me with something."

This brought the rest of the Kings into silence. They were curious to find out what their leader could possibly want with an outsider that they couldn't do.

"What do you want?"

"My dog, Rex hasn't been feeling too up lately. Think it might have something to do with his brain. If you ask Julie Farkas for me at the Old Mormon Fort, I'll give you a place to rest for the night."

Sam nodded, and agreed to set out at once. There was work to be done.

* * *

Beth liked to think of Arcade as an addition to the team, and not a replacement to Sam. Although he was quite chatty, and annoying with his know-it-all attitude, but he did know a lot of things, which Beth found to be quite useful. The trio walked up to one of the Securitrons protecting the gate to the Strip. Beth handed it all of their passports. The Securitron gazed over them for a minute.

"Your faces have been added into the database. You may proceed." Said the Securitron. Beth shuddered at the robotic voice. When they were inside, Arcade whispered to her.

"Were those passports real?"

"Of course not!" she said laughing. Arcade seemed surprised and shocked. Boone let out a low chuckle. Beth took a moment to look around at her surroundings. To her right was a casino called Gomorrah, with women wearing revealing clothes dancing for drunken NCR men. To her left was a large tower, the Lucky 38 casino. In fact, she had seen it many times, on their way to New Vegas, as it was quite tall. There was another gate, which she was about to go through when a Securitron cut her off. Unlike the other Securitrons, this one had a different face on its screen. The face of a cowboy.

"Well howdy there! Long time no see!" Victor greeted.

"What the hell? Victor what are you doing here? I thought you were in Goodsprings?"

"I'm not limited to one body madam. And Mr. House would like to see you in the Lucky 38, as soon as possible!"

Boone and Arcade were shocked, although Boone's face was still emotionless. What could the great Mr. House want with a Courier?

"Okay, I'll go there now." Beth said. She followed Victor, leading her to the Lucky 38 casino. When they entered, there were more Securitrons inside. Arcade looked uneasy around the robots. Victor led them to the elevator, pressed a button and the door opened. They all cramped inside, with Victor taking up most of the space. He pressed a button and hummed a tune as the elevator rose. They finally arrive at the topmost floor, with Victor announcing happily,

"Penthouse floor!"

They were escorted to a large computer screen. For a moment, it was blank, which left Beth confused. Then, the dark screen burst to life with an image of a man in his thirties, with a mustache. The picture looked pre-war as well. A voice came from the screen.

"Hello there. I see Victor has shown you in." the voice said. The three were shocked. A talking computer? "My name is Mr. House. At least, that's what everyone calls me."

Beth managed to gain control over her voice. "What do you want?"

"What I want? Your name is Bethany Johnson, age 19. You are Courier number 6, are you not?" asked Mr. House.

"Uh…yes I guess I am." She said.

"Then where is the platinum chip?" Mr. House said. Beth gave him a blank stare. "Your package that you were to deliver, where?"

"I…I don't know. A man shot me in the head in a checkered suit. His name is…Benny I believe?" Beth said uncertainly. "He must've taken it."

A sigh came from the computer screen. "Benny lives in the Tops. You could say he's the boss of the Chairmen. It won't be easy for you getting the chip back."

"Wait, excuse me. Me?" Beth asked surprised.

"Of course. You have no idea how important the platinum chip, your package is." Mr. House said.

"What do I get in return? What's from stopping me from just leaving here now?"

"Well, for one the Securitrons are under my control. I could order them to kill you, as I can order them to assist you." Mr. House replied. On queue, the Securtrions aimed their machine gun arms at Beth, Boone, and Arcade.

"And if we help you?" Beth said back. There was a giant lump in her throat.

"Why, you and your companions are free to use the Lucky 38 as residence. The Lucky 38 has clean water, beds, food, and protection if you need it." Mr. House said.

Beth thought to herself. What did she have to lose? They had nowhere to go. And here she was, being offered hospitality, and a job.

"Al right. I'll look for your chip." Beth said.

"Excellent. There is no rush however, as Benny has probably locked himself in the Tops, with no intention of leaving. Until you decide to go, you may explore the Lucky 38, if you wish." Mr. House said. There was no excitement in his voice however. It was toneless, but unlike Boone he sounded more machine than a man. Victor seemed happy to escort them out. They all cramped inside the elevator again, this time only going down one floor. Victor gestured for Beth to exit, but stopped the others as they began to exit as well.

"This used to be The Presidental Executive Suite. Before the war, Mr. House and his Wife used to sleep here." Victor explained. The room was quite large, with three doors. One was labeled Bathroom. Another room's door was open, revealing a large queen sized bed. The room was richly decorated,

"Is this mine?" Beth asked, feeling small.

"Well, this suite is meant to be shared. Mr. House actually recommended this suite for you. It would be rude to refuse." Victor said.

"What about my friends? Where will they sleep?" Beth asked.

"There are many more rooms and suites in the Lucky 38. There is only one more bed in this room, which I believe is not enough for two grown men." Replied Victor. Arcade turned red, but no one noticed but Beth. Boone and Arcade were led back into the elevator, where they were then brought to the next bellow level.

Beth flopped down on the bed, kicking off her boots. She looked around at her surroundings. There was another door in the room, which turned out to be a closet, not that she had much clothes anyways. There was a drawer to her right at the wall, in reach of her lying on the bed. She dug out a few syringes of Med-X out of the bottom of her backpack and stuffed them in the top shelf of the drawer. She checked her Pip-Boy for the time. 11:40. She just laid there for a while, staring up at the ceiling, and decided to wash her self. She stripped out of her clothes, and walked to the Bathroom, where she found a shower and a bath. The water was cold on her skin, but slowly turned hot. There was soap and shampoo, which she gladly used to clean her skin and wash her hair. She just stood in the shower for some time, letting the hot water hit off of her, steam rising. It was a while before she came out.

* * *

Sam woke up, sun hitting his face through a window. He ate a quick meal of beans and water and met the King down in the lobby. His dog was next to him.

"Here's Rex. Now Jacobstown is in the mountains, which is remotely west of here. I'll mark it on your Pip-Boy for you." The King said. The dog, Rex looked tired, but gleefully licked Sam's gloved hand while the king put in the coordinates of Jacobstown on his Pip-Boy.

"Well look at that." The King stated. "He already likes you. Here are a few things you're going to need to know about Rex here. He hats rats. And hats. No idea why. He doesn't really need to be fed a lot, but he loves Brahmin steak, so go talk to Pacer afterwards about that."

"I'll be back with Rex as soon as I can." Sam said shaking the King's hand. The trip would be a long one, judging from his Pip-Boy. It would take him a full day to get to Jacobstown, more if he couldn't find a path through the mountains. Pacer grudgingly handed him a few Brahmin steaks in a paper bag, which Sam put into his pack. There was a click as he put on his helmet, fully encasing him in the Chinese Stealth Armor. The King urged Rex to follow Sam, which he did happily.

"You know, you remind me of a dog I used to know." Sam told Rex. Rex barked happily again, following Sam out the door.

A few hours later of walking and talking with Rex, Sam realized it had been a long time since he had talk to a dog. It was nice, having someone to talk to, who didn't say anything back.

"-and then she brings along some anti-Brotherhood dick. Who, by the way looked like the biggest fag I've seen in my life. Not that I have anything about gay people." Sam told Rex. The dog gave a bark, which Sam took as an "I know what you mean". Around noontime he tossed Rex a large Brahmin steak. The dog ate it happily while Sam chewed a Brahmin steak as well, drinking a Sunset Sarsaparilla as a beverage. The rest of the day was spent walking up a mountain path to Jacobstown. The only things that Sam and Rex came upon were insects, mostly giant mantises and the occasional radroach. Sam didn't even have to draw one of his weapons as Rex easily ripped the insects apart. He saw the town as Rex and him broke through to a clearing. Wooden logs were walls to Jacobstown. He saw a Super Mutant, and grew uneasy. Jacobstown was a peaceful settlement, wasn't it? The King hadn't lied to him just to get rid of him and Rex, had he?

A large hand waved to him. A Super Mutant's arm. Sam cautiously walked towards it, hand on the Blackhawk. But the Super Mutant was unarmed, with an assault rifle on it's back. The Super Mutant spoke.

"Hello. Welcome to Jacobstown. My name is Marcus, what brings you here on this fine day?" greeted the Super Mutant.

"My name is Sam, I'm here to see Doctor Henry." Sam said. "Uh…is Doctor Henry a…Super Mutant?"

"No, he's human like you."

"How about…" Sam said thinking. "Neil! Is he here?"

"Ah Neil. Yes, he told me of what happened at Black Mountain. You are the human who helped him?" Marcus asked. Sam nodded. "I'm glad to hear that place has gone to rest. Go in to see Doctor Henry then, I'd advise not to talk to any Nightkin though."

Sam nodded and waved for Rex to follow him. The cyberdog barked at Marcus before following Sam. He didn't like the smell of this place. Sam guessed Doctor Henry must've been in the main house, or the lodge. A few Nightkin gave him glares as he passed them, but he ignored them to his best ability, not making eye contact. Sam finally met Doctor Henry, who turned out to be quite an old man who had a ghoul assistant named Calamity.

"Are you Doctor Henry?" Sam asked. The Doctor jumped at his voice, glasses falling off his face. He angrily put them back on.

"Yes. Who are you?" Doctor Henry asked. He seemed to be impatient, so Sam got right to the point.

"This cyberdog, Rex seems to have something wrong with him. Could you check him out?"

The Doctor sighed, and went to Rex. His eyes immediately stopped at Rex's brain case.

"There's the problem!" the Doctor said throwing his hands up in the air. "His brain is bad."

"Bad?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Yes, it's old. Really old. If you want the dog to feel better, I'm going to have to perform surgery, but I need a new brain for your dog." Doctor Henry said.

"Where can I get uh…a dog's brain?" Sam asked, slightly disgusted.

"That's lucky for you. Old Lady Gibson sent me her dog, Rey quite a while ago. It died of course, couldn't survive the cold of the mountain tops here." Dr. Henry said. Sam agreed in silence. It had been cold going up the mountain, but his Chinese Stealth Suit kept him warm.

"So…could you start the surgery now?" Sam asked hopefully. Dr. Henry raised an eyebrow.

"Do you think I'm going to fix your dog for free?" he asked seriously. Sam sighed, and prepared himself for another grueling task to get another one done. Then the Doctor laughed. "Of course I will. It'll take a couple of hours though, you're probably going to want to stay the night, unless you want to freeze over."

"Thanks Doctor. Where can I stay?"

"Here, in the clinic. You can take one of the hospital beds if you'd like."

Sam thanked him again, and laid himself down on the hospital bed, closing his eyes. He fell asleep instantly.

* * *

Beth awoke the same morning as Sam, under the sheets of her new, soft, and comfortable bed. She realized all she had on was a towel, wrapped around her torso covering her breasts, the bottom hanging over her hip. She threw the towel off, and covered herself with the bed sheets, closing her eyes. She wanted to go back to sleep. Another hour passed and she awoke again. There was knocking at her door. It sounded more like someone was knocking with a tin can. She gathered up the sheets and covered herself, opening the door from the side. It was Victor. He was holding a large tray, with a large assortment of food. He seemed to finally notice her, behind the door.

"I have your breakfast ma'am. May I come in?" inquire Victor. Beth nodded and the securitron rolled in, placing the tray in the middle of her bed before rolling out, closing the door behind him. Beth was alarmed but went to the tray of food nonetheless. There was a large glass of orange juice, as well as an omelet, still hot. Beth dug in hungrily, devouring the food like a wolf. She was done with the food quickly, also chugging done the glass of orange juice. She couldn't remember the last time she had a good meal. She looked around for her clothes, and found her leather armor, boots, and undergarments discarded on the floor. She dressed, noticing a tear in her armor and decided to wear a pair of jeans and a tank top instead. As she finished tying her boots, another person knocked at her door. This time, she knew it wasn't Victor. It was a human's hand knocking. She opened it, revealing Boone and Arcade.

"You ready to take out that Benny guy?" Boone asked gruffly.

"I suggest you don't go in there charging with guns blazing. It could end up quite badly for you." Arcade said. "And us."

"Guys, relax. We have plenty of time to plan for getting that platinum chip. Now since I think we're in New Vegas, I believe we should…gamble a little." Beth said, smiling at her last words. Boone sighed and shook his head.

"I'm going to go take a walk around outside the Strip. I'll be back later." Boone said, entering the elevator. Arcade joined him, saying,

"Might as well explore around this place. See if they're a few books Pre-War books around."

The elevator door closed on them, and Beth saw the number above the elevator door change, going down in order. She went back into her room, digging in her backpack. She pulled out a few small pouches of caps. By rough estimate, she guessed there were around 300 caps in total. She poured them all into one sack, and started to wait for the elevator. It seemed to take a long time for the number to get to 1. Halfway through waiting, she turned back into the room, grabbing her .357 magnum Lucky. She also took a syringe of Med-X, and injected it into herself, enjoying the relaxing feeling of the Med-X. She took another syringe for later before leaving the room, looking for a casino.

Gomorrah. The casino that smells of beer and sex. And that's what keeps it's customers coming back and back. As soon as she entered, a man in a suit wearing shades immediately asked her for all her weapons, assuring they would be returned. He also asked her if she was interested in a job, which she said she wasn't. She exchanged all of her caps for a total of 342 chips. There was a game going on in the top left corner or the gambling area. Beth walked over to the table, and saw they were play Texas Hold'em, a pre-war card game. She hadn't recognized it the last time she had been here. Had she ever been here? She wasn't sure. She watched the gamblers play for a while. Eventually, she asked the head of the floor to explain to her the rules. It was simple enough. Two cards dealt out each. Matching Pairs, Straights, and Flushes. Eventually when she thought she had it down, she went over to the table, sitting down in an empty stool.

"I'd like to play." She said, arms leaning on the table, with a grin on her face.

* * *

It was near midnight when Sam awoke. He had felt something licking his hand. Dogmeat? When he opened his eyes he realized he was still in the Mojave Wasteland, and that it was Rex who was licking his hand. The case that held his old brain now held a newer one, but as far as he could tell there was no difference. His thighs and calves protested as he stood up from the bed. He gave Rex a pat on the head. Doctor Henry was in the room still, cleaning up from the surgery. Sam gave him his thanks again and began to leave. He wanted to get out of Jacobstown as soon as possible. Neil and Raul intercepted them on their way out.

"Long time no see my friend." Greeted Neil. He took Sam's much smaller hand in his, shaking it.

"How are things for you two?" Sam asked.

"Well. The Nightkin here are better than Tabitha and the ones at Black Mountain, but they're still the same old Nightkin."

"I'm glad you two are happy." Sam said sincerely. He turned with Rex and started to leave. Neil caught his arm and turned him back around.

"Listen," Neil said seriously. "If you ever need something, anything, come here. Raul and I owe you."

Knowing it was foolish not to accept, he nodded. Just as they were going to leave, Marcus marched up to them.

"NCR mercenaries up by the gate." Marcus told them. "Look, human, I know you didn't come here to help us, but could you convince them to leave us?"

"What? Why? Can't you just kill them?" Sam asked.

"That'll just give them an excuse to send more people here and destroy Jacobstown. Please human, help us." Pleaded Marcus. Sam nodded. He walked to the gate, confronting the mercenaries. Rex followed him, barking. All the mercenaries wore combat armor, with an assortment of assault rifles. Did they really think they could take on the Super Mutants? One of the mercenaries came up to Sam.

"You with these muties?" he asked roughly.

"Maybe I am." Sam replied confidently. "Leave them alone. You don't want to do this."

"Why the hell not? I'm getting paid for this man." Said the mercenary. Beneath his helmet Sam rolled his eyes. The mercenary drew his assault rifle. "Why don't you get the hell out of here before you get hurt eh?"

Sam moved quickly, drawing his katana in one fluid motion and slicing the mercenaries gun in half. He turned invisible just as fast, leaving the mercenaries confused. He appeared to their right suddenly, punching one of the soldiers in the face. When they turned he was gone.

"Unless you want me to actually kill you, I suggest you leave." Said Sam. The voice came from behind the mercenaries, but they couldn't see him.

"Fuck, Norton this guys a fucking monster. Let's get out of here man when we have the chance." Said one of the mercenaries to another. It appeared Norton was the leader, the one that Sam had sliced his gun in two. Norton must've agreed as he started running, with his fellow mercenaries in tow. Sam reappeared after they left, calling out.

"You can go tell whoever hired you to go eat dung! I'll be after him!" Sam called out. Marcus stomped over to him.

"I cannot thank you enough human. If you ever need Jacobstown's help, we'll have your back." Marcus said gratefully.

"My name is Sam. Why do the NCR want Jacobstown so bad?"

"It's not that they want it, they just don't want us in it. Most people don't bother coming all the way up here though, this is a rare thing."

"Why send mercs though? Why not just send some of their troops?"

"I guess it's just easier." Marcus said. There was a pause and the only sound that was heard was the wind. "Are you leaving?"

"Yes, I will be. Have to return Rex here." Sam said indicating to Rex. Marcus nodded and let the two be on their way as they left the Super Mutant's town in the mountains with the moonlight shining down on them.

* * *

A day later, Norton and his band of mercenaries reported back to Camp Golf, where they had been hired. And the man who had hired them was not happy.

"What the hell? I thought I told you to wipe out those muties?" yelled the officer. Norton cowered at the man's rising voice.

"Fuck man. There was this guy, had a dog too." Norton said trying to regain his composure.

"ONE MAN AND A DOG SCARED YOU GUYS OFF?" The officer's face was turning red with fury.

"Listen!" Norton said backing up. "That guy is a monster, I'm telling you. Wore some kind of black armor suit or some shit. Freaking turned invisible too. Couldn't fucking see the guy. He would've killed us too, but he let us go."

The officer scratched his chin, as if he was thinking. "I want you to follow this…man. Track him, find out his weaknesses."

Norton nodded multiple times, breathing a sigh of relief as the officer left, leaving him and his mercenaries to themselves. He motioned for his mercenaries to listen.

"Okay, listen up. This guy…I don't want to mess with him. Fuck man, should've never accepted this job in the first place. I'm out."

All of the mercenaries agreed, fleeing Camp Golf as fast as possible. The NCR could handle their own problems.

* * *

Freeside was different then the last time Sam had been there. He saw more Kings patrolling the streets with handguns at their sides. There was even another Kings member outside the base of the Kings, guarding the door. They let Sam in only after his arguing was loud enough for the King himself to hear. The King stepped out himself, asking him to quite down.

"What's with the yelling?" asked the King.

"Rex is all fixed up." Sam said. He motioned for Rex to go forward, back to the King. He sat down and stayed put, barking once. The King laughed out loud.

"Ah Rex. Good old Rex. Tell you what. Keep Rexie. He could use the adventure. Not much happens around here anyways."

"Are you sure?" Sam asked uncertainly. It felt wrong to take someone's dog, especially someone he didn't know very well. Then again, Rex seemed to like him.

"Positive." The King said with his trademark grin. He tossed Sam a bag full of caps as well. "For all the trouble."

"Trouble?"

"You know, with them NCR folks."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked confused.

"There have been a bunch of NCR troops looking for you. Figured you'd know."

"Why would they be looking for me?" Sam wondered. Then he remembered, back in Jacobstown. It would have been better just to kill them, he thought. "Shit. Is there some kind of bounty on my head or something?"

"No, they didn't say anything of the sort. Why? What did you do?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it." Sam said turning with Rex in tow. The King could only wonder who this man was, and what did he do.

* * *

Far away from the Strip, at the Fort, Caesar's base of operations, a Vulpes Inculta calmly told Caesar of his report.

"Nipton was burned to the ground, as requested." Vulpes said. "But there was…an inconvenience."

"Inconvenience?" Caesar questioned.

"Two people. One man, one woman. They arrived as we finished burning the town."

"And what did you do to them?"

"I let them go, so they could tell people of what happened."

"Hmmm…. Interesting. And who were these two? NCR? Fiends?"

"I do not know Caesar. The man wore a strange black armor, as well as a sword. The woman was beautiful, but otherwise looked like any other local."

"Black armor you say? Did he turn…invisible?"

"No sir. Why do you ask?"

"Some scouts have reported of the NCR looking for a man like that. They say he can disappear into thin air. They say he can't be killed." Caesar said, temper rising. Vulpes sensed it, and tried to calm him down.

"I can look for him sir." Vulpes volunteered. Caesar dismissed the issue with a wave of his hand.

"There are bigger problems."

"Sir?"

"There is something. Something that can stop our plans my dear Vulpes. And it resides in the heart of Vegas, the Strip. The Platinum Chip. This man, Benny he is called has it. But not for long. He is holding a card game at his casino. I want you to go there, undercover with a small group of the Frumentarii. Enter this "game", and when this "Benny" let's his guard down, let the whole world know of the might of the Legion."

"It will be done, my lord." Vulpes said bowing.

* * *

Beth returned back at the Lucky 38 that night, seeing Boone and Arcade sitting at a table together. Boone was messing around with his sniper rifle, while Arcade was reading a book. Beth tossed a large sack of caps on to the table. The two men stopped what they were doing and looked at her expectantly.

"10,000 caps." She said grinning. Arcade had that stupid shocked face on again.

"What did you do? Rob a casino?" Boone asked.

"I won it. Texas Hold'em at Gomorrah." Beth said. She also threw a piece of paper on the table. Boone and Arcade read it.

The Tops is hosting a Texas Hold'em game. Highstakes. Minimum buy in 10,000 caps. All are welcome to join in the game.- Benny, the Tops.

"You're joking." Arcade said.

"Hardly." Beth said. Both of the men just stared at her. "This is a perfect opportunity! We can get close to Benny, AND get more caps while we're at it."

Victor rolled up behind Beth and spoke.

"Mr. House would like to see you." He said. Beth let herself be escorted to the elevator.

"We'll see if he thinks it's a good idea." Beth told them. Half an hour later she came back holding two thumbs it. "We're good."


	9. Chapter 9: Texas Hold'em

**Author's Note:**

**TiredTired: I mostly want to use Arcade to explore the Remnants, but otherwise I don't really like him either.**

**kistune-demon16: Thank you, update this time was spanned over many days because of the holidays. Should return to normal eventually.**

**Desertstar87: It's really quite annoying to play, but if you're a hardcore Fallout/Oblivion fan like me you should get it. **

**Mr. Sambob: *Spoiler* There was one glitch where you had to talk down God/Dog and repair the 3 valves. There was a glitch at that part for me, where my color kept beeping, and I only had 10 seconds to do everything before dieing, which was impossible. I had to reload a save from the beginning of the DLC. There was also one at the end for the achievement for trapping Father Elijah in the Vault. As for writing about it, we shall have to see, I want to play more DLC for the game when it comes out so I can see how they all entwine. **

**Dark Flygon Naxi: I decided to put the group back together, for now. Who knows if they'll split up again.**

**nuttex: I play on the Xbox 360, though my friend plays the PC version and I've downloaded the mod for it at his house. **

**Everyone: Well I've recently gotten back into gaming more, but I will try to still update as much as I can. In the poker game, I put the $ as representation of caps. So $100 chip means a chip worth 100 caps. That's all for now. Hope you guys enjoy, tried to make this one longer, and I will keep trying to make the chapters longer. In Word they're around 15 pages. I'm going to try for 20 in the next one, but who knows. I did not bring anyone new into this chapter, and for that I am sorry. But the next chapter I will be bringing in Cass, and possible ED-E. I'm working on another character who's not in the game, who I will try to add in somehow. Once again, thank you, and enjoy. **

**

* * *

**

NCR troops parted at Sam's arrival. Sam didn't give them a glance, but Rex barked at them. He headed straight for Hsu. Hsu didn't look surprised to see him either.

"I heard someone's looking for me. I want to know who." Sam said simply. Hsu nodded.

"We need you to do something for us." Hsu said. As he said it, two more NCR men came into to room. No, one was a woman. One of them tossed a folder to him. He caught it and opened it. The first paper inside was an advertisement. Texas Hold'em game at the Tops. He looked curiously at the high ranked NCR officials.

"This Benny character has something Mr. House needs. We need it before he does." Said one of them. He had a full-grown beard, with gray hair pushed back, out of his face.

"We don't know what it is, only that it's very important to him." Said the woman. She had long brown hair, which must've been against regulations and serious gray eyes.

"What we want you to do is enter. Find a way to get around Benny; find out what he has that Mr. House doesn't have." Hsu said.

"What's in it for me?" Sam asked. He was sure they had no leverage over him.

"We've labeled you as 'The Black Ghost' in the Mojave. So far, you're some average mercenary who can turn invisible." Said the man with the beard. "We can easily make you the next most wanted in the Mojave. Think about it."

Sam cursed in his head. They had him backed up in a corner, unarmed. He looked back at the paper and frowned.

"10,000 caps buy in. I don't have that kind of money." Sam said crossing his arms.

"We'll sponsor you. And you can keep what you win. If you win of course." The woman said. Sam considered his options. He could just run away now, from the Mojave. He was sure he'd find a way back to the Capital Wasteland. He thought against it, though. He looked at Hsu, and the highly ranked NCR officials.

"I'm in."

* * *

Vulpes Inculta shifted uncomfortably in his suit. His fellow comrades were uneasy too. There were 4 Frumentarii with him, but it was still uneasy walking in the heart of New Vegas with NCR crawling all over. Not that he was afraid. Just…cautious. One of his Frumentarii voiced his opinion of the mission.

"Sir, this mission. I do not feel comfortable with mongrels surrounding us at all times."

"Silence you fool. Act like them, speak like them, and eat like them. Learn to be them or die." Vulpes had hissed. They had arrived early for the game, two days early to be precise. It was always good to view the "battlefield" before the battle occurred. When he entered the Tops, Vulpes and his companions were also searched for weapons, making them all feel uneasy. The man who confiscated their weapons assured them they would be kept safe. Vulpes cleared his throat before speaking.

"My name is…Alistar Bergerac. I am for the game." He told one of the men at the desk. They looked confused for a moment, and then realized what it was about.

"It ain't for two more days bud." Said one of them. His nametag on his suit had the name Swank.

"I understand that. I was wondering if me and my…friends could have a room in this establishment until then." Vulpes said carefully.

"How many rooms will that be sir?" asked Swank.

"There is only need for one." Vulpes replied. Swank nodded, thinking they must all be insane and pulled out a key from the back of the desk handing to them.

"Floor 4, room 412." Swank said handing Vulpes the key. "That will be 1000 caps."

Vulpes motioned to his fellow Fremuntarii. The four of them pulled out large sacks of caps from their packs, all from Caesar's raiding parties. One of them tossed a sack to Swank, who fumbled with it's unexpected weight.

"There's 2000, that should cover food as well. I expect meals to be brought three times a day until I leave." Vulpes said turning with his Frumentarii. The games were just beginning.

* * *

Beth was trying to decide what to wear to the game. Jane, Mr. House's "assistant" Securitron had laid out several for her. An elegant purple satin one, revealing most of her back. A white satin one, revealing much of her left leg. The last one was a short dress, which reminded her of the prostitutes at Gomorrah. Finally, she had decided on the purple one. Jane had also brought her heels, as well as did her hair before she set out. Boone and Arcade would be escorting her. Before she left she looked at herself in a full-length mirror that had been brought to her room by Victor. Satisfied she looked eloquent enough, she left her room and went down the elevator, meeting Boone and Arcade in the lobby.

"How do I look?" she asked them smiling.

"Great. Let's get going." Boone said tonelessly while turning. Arcade and Beth followed. Beth handed Arcade the backpack she had been carrying. He looked puzzled.

"It has all the caps in it. 30,000 including Mr. House's add in as well." She explained. Arcade nodded. There were many looks as the trio walked to the Tops, mostly men staring at Beth, who looked like an angel fallen from heaven. The Tops was more crowded than usual. It seemed a lot of people wanted to watch how the game would turn out. Where the Blackjack and Roulette tables usually were stood a single circular table. Beth turned to the receptionist, Swank while her companions were stripped of their weapons.

"Hello there. My name is Bethany Johnson. I'm here for the game?" she said. Swank didn't look up from his work.

"Yeah yeah al right. Go with the other spectators." Swank said.

"No, you don't understand. I'm HERE for the game." She said. Swank finally looked up, and his jaw dropped. He quickly recovered.

"Al right then ma'am please cash in your caps upstairs and get to the table over there as soon as you can." Swank said pointing to the table. The only one sitting there was a man dressed up nicely in a black tuxedo, wearing a matching black top hat. Behind the rail behind him were 4 more similarly dressed men. He had chips in front of him as well.

"Boone, Arcade go exchange the caps in." Beth said. She started making her way towards the table, and finally saw him. The man wearing the checkered suit, the man who shot her. It was Benny. She stood there for a moment, contemplating whether to stab him in the throat or smash his face into the table first. Arcade and Boone woke her from the trance.

"Here are your…chips. You should get going. The game starts soon." Arcade said.

"Good luck." Boone said. Arcade said it as well. Beth thanked them, and let herself be escorted to the table by them. They placed her chips neatly in front of her. Benny came to sit down as well, stopping to look at Beth. She stared back. A second later the eye contact was broken. Swank joined the trio at the table. It seemed like he would be serving as the dealer. He shuffled the deck of cards expertly, and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. Everyone stopped and stared.

"Al right. Well it looks like it'll be a three-person match today. You all know the rules of Texas-"

The front doors of the casino flung open, revealing a tall man with a duffel bag. Everyone watching Swank had turned to see him. A helmet with an orange polarized visor covered his face. Boone didn't look surprised by his appearance, but Beth had stood up, staring across the room. A strange looking dog stood beside him. He motioned for the dog to leave, and it did, exiting out into the Strip through the front doors.

"I'm here for the game." Said the man. He tossed the duffel bag to the side. Benny looked shocked, but Swank seemed to finally grasp that another person was going to play. He stood up from his seat and walked over to the man, carrying his duffel bag up to the cashier while he sat down. Benny eyed him as he sat down. The man wasn't wearing formal clothes like the rest of the players. Who did he think he was barging in, announcing he wanted to play?

"And who the hell are you?" Benny asked. There was silence all around the room again. The faceless man looked at him.

"They call me the Black Ghost." Said Sam. A couple of people in the audience attending gasped. The Black Ghost? The mercenary that turned invisible in the blink of an eye? What was he doing here, playing poker? Swank had returned in this time, carrying all of Sam's chips to his part of the table. Beth was positioned opposite of him, staring at him. Sam ignored her, and pilled his chips evenly. Swank sat down again, sighing once before shuffling the deck again. He raised his hands to the audience, saying,

"Al right ladies and gents today we have a Texas Hold'em Poker game, hosted by Benny here. Right. So everyone at the table has around 30,000 caps each. I'll be the dealer this game as well. Okay? No protests? Okay let's play."

Swank dealt out the cards, starting with Benny first, ending with Sam last. Beth peeked at her cards. A two of clubs and a three of spades. Nothing too get excited about. Benny seemed unable to contain his happiness. He sported a broad grin. The other man at the table and Sam looked at their cards, with no response. They all anted up. $20 chips representing 200 caps. Benny glanced at the other players before tossing in 50 chips. They all matched his bet, except Sam who folded. Swank flipped three cards from the deck, face up. The Flop. The first card was a King of Diamonds, the second was a Two of Spades. The third card was a Three of Diamonds. Benny tossed in a $100 chip. Beth raised by another $100, setting the pot to $430 chips after Vulpes folded. Two more cards out of the deck. Three of Clubs, King of Hearts, Ace of Spades. A murmur went out in the crowd. Benny raised again, this time by $200. Beth matched it. Swank gestured for them to flip over their cards. Benny showed his, a 10 of Spades and a King of Spades. Benny gave a little grin. He had a Three of a Kind. Beth flipped her two cards over. 3 threes, 2 twos. Full house. Beth had won the hand, though Benny didn't seem bothered. The rest of the game went on quickly, but was called for a break by Swank.

"It's around 7 o'clock ladies and gents. We'll be back in two hours to play the rest of the game." He said. The crowd moved away, some heading out to get something to eat, some lingered around the lobby. Beth saw Benny leave the table, walking to an elevator. She followed.

* * *

Vulpes knew this would be the time to act. He saw the checkered suited man leave the table, with the blonde haired woman following him. They went up an elevator together, with the blonde woman speaking to the man. He looked back at the table. The other man, the "Black Ghost" was gone. How strange. He reached into his pocket, feeling the .22 silenced pistol he had snuck in. It only had one bullet to keep down the weight. He would go up the elevator, find the man, and kill him. The woman would also be killed if necessary. He saw the elevator stop at floor 13. He pressed the down button, and the elevator began to descend back downwards. He looked over his shoulder for a moment, made eye contact with one of his Frumentarii before entering and pressing the button for the 13th floor. As soon as the doors closed he felt a sharp pain on his head, and then everything went black.

An invisible Sam pressed a random floor button. The elevator stopped abruptly, stopping at the 5th floor. Sam dragged the body of his fellow competitor out of the elevator, and left him there. Sam reentered the elevator, and the doors closed resuming their ascension to the 13th floor.

* * *

Benny slid a drink to Beth and poured one for himself. Pre-War scotch. Heavy stuff, but he liked it. The woman next to him down it within a second. He turned to her, downing his own.

"Thought I shot you in the head girlie." He said. His tone was nervous, and did not have his smile on anymore. "How are you still standing?"

"I'm hard to kill." Beth said handing him her shot glass. He filled it again, as well as his own.

"Serves me right for using a 9mm. Tell me, what are you here for?" Benny asked.

"I want my package back." She said. Another drink, filled again by Benny.

"No can do girlie."

"Mr. House wants it. So do I. Give it to me." Beth said. She had downed another drink, but when Benny filled her glass again she didn't take it. He sighed.

"Look girlie. Old House wants the chip for something. I know. Probably used for the Securitrons or something. He can't have that power girlie. It'll be gone to waste."

"Tell me then. What are you going to use it for?" she said leaning against the table.

"New Vegas needs to be independent. No Gods, No Masters. Al though may not want it to end up like that, I see it better being independent than being ruled by some computer."

"So where is it?" she asked. Benny grinned, pulling the small silver poker chip from the inside of his coat. He flipped it around his fingers. Beth reached for it, but Benny snatched it back in his hand quickly. "What do you want for it?"

"Ain't all the caps in the world is going to make me part from this prize baby."

Beth thought about it, and took her hand trailing a line down his front. "What if I gave you…me?"

"You?" Benny said, choking on his drink. He wiped his mouth, looking at her flabbergasted. "What can you do for me?"

"I don't know, you tell me." She said unbuttoning his coat. Benny seemed to understand, and took her by the hand, leading her to the bed. Benny thought he heard a ding from the elevator, but dismissed the thought, closing the door to the suite and turning back to the now naked Beth, lying amongst the sheets.

"We got all about an hour. Hope you're ready for the Ben-man." He said stripping off his clothes.

* * *

From the room, Sam could barely suppress himself for barging in, Blackhawk in hand which he had smuggled in. He would just have to wait. 5 minutes passed. 10. 15. 30 minutes later her heard the sounds of Beth and Benny come to a halt. For a moment.

"Is that what you shot me with?" Beth said while dressing, picking up Benny's pistol. It was similar to the old Colt M1911 Doc Mitchell had given her, with nickel plating and a picture of a beautiful women on the handle. Benny nodded, and tried to snatch the gun away from her, but struggled because he was pulling his pants up. Realizing he was weaponless and at the mercy of the woman he had just had sex with, he raised his hands in the air.

"Look I'll give you the chip. Just please don't give it to House. It'll ruin everything." He pleaded. Beth continued to point the gun at him.

"Give it to me. I'll decide what I want to do with it." She said threateningly. Benny reluctantly handed her the Platinum Chip. She lowered the gun, but still held it in her hand. "Get dressed and get back downstairs. We have a game to finish."

Benny just stared at her as she left his suite, and didn't start dressing until after he heard the ding of the elevator leaving the floor.

Beth slipped Benny's pistol into her underwear, underneath her dress. Wouldn't be smart waving a gun about once she got back down to the casino. She took a deep breath and pressed the button for the first floor.

"Was it worth it?" A voice asked. The suddenness of the voice made her jump. Sam materialized beside her, leaning against the elevator wall. She turned red when she realized he was talking about Benny. Her embarrassment turned to anger in a flash.

"You were there?" she asked angrily. Sam backed away from her, hands in front of him.

"I was outside." He said.

"How long?" Beth asked, turning redder by the second. If she wasn't so threatening, Sam might've found this situation quite funny.

"Long enough." Sam said. "Look, whatever he gave you…I need it."

"Tough luck, it's mine." She said. Sam sighed.

"The NCR are on my ass about this. Just give it to me."

"Oh, so you're with the NCR." She said knowingly. Sam shook his head, and turned away. It was a lost cause. There was a moment of silence.

"You're winning right now." Sam stated. He was referring the poker game. Beth turned to him.

"You're losing." Beth said. After the first hand, Sam had gambled with the money recklessly, losing more than half of his chips. The other man who's name she didn't know was also low on chips.

"Not for long." Sam said. There was a ding as the elevator reached the first floor. Benny, Swank, and Vulpes Incluta were already at the table. Benny must've come down by alternative means. Beth and Sam took their seats. Swank dealt out the cards to the players.

"The ante will be raised to $100 total chips." Swank said. Sam tossed his in first, followed by a nervous looking Benny, then Beth. Vulpes Inculta threw his chips in last. Sam folded instantly, not waiting for the Flop. Beth did as well, eyeing him carefully. That left Vulpes Inculta and Benny to battle it out. The hand went high, with Vulpes finally going all in. Benny was able to match it easily. Swank gestured for Vulpes to reveal his cards first. A King of Spades as well as a Queen of Spades. On the table, the cards were an Ace of Hearts, an Eight of Spades, Six of Spades, Four of Spades, and a final Ace of Spades. That gave Vulpes a straight flush of a King, Queen, and Ace, of Spades. Benny shook his head while smiling. He tossed his two cards down to the table. An Eight of Hearts, joined by an Eight of Clubs. Sam quickly looked to the table again. Benny had a full house of two Aces, three Eights. Vulpes had lost. For a second, Sam thought the man would flip out, but he seemed to keep his cool as his cards and chips were swiped away. He remained in his seat though, intently watching as Swank dealt the cards out again. Sam peeked at his cards. They anted up $100 chips, and Sam couldn't help but notice Benny didn't even try to conceal his pleasure at the cards he had gotten. It could've been a bluff however. In a game like Texas Hold'Em, you could never know. He looked across the table at Beth, who also took a peek at her cards. Three cards came from Swank's deck. The Flop. Jack of Diamonds, a face card. Then the seven of hearts. The third was an Ace of Spades. Benny started the betting.

"300." He said tossing in a few handful of chips. Sam noticed he was trying to get Sam as low on chips as possible, without giving it away that he had a great hand. Ignoring his brain Sam tossed in 300 as well. Beth matched it.

Two more cards. Two more bets. Sam had just $700 worth of chips left, while Beth and Benny had almost 45,000 each. When Sam looked at the 5 cards again they were:

Jack of Diamonds. 7 of Hearts. Ace of Spades. Nine of Hearts. Jack of Hearts. With just three players left in the game, and Sam almost out of chips, the game was getting very intense. The audience watching was intently looking at the players and the cards.

Benny had gone back to his usual calm state, but was still smiling. Sam knew why he wanted to win. It was his game, his casino, and his day.

"Hmmm…" Benny muttered. "If one of you had an Ace you'd have two pairs…you could win the whole pot here…"

At first Sam had wondered why he had even mentioned it. It wasn't unusual to get two pairs in a poker game. Then he realized Benny was trying to divert both Sam and Beth's attention. Supposed he had another Jack. He would have a three of a kind. Benny nonetheless raised the pot by another $200. Beth called. Sam looked at his measly pile of chips compared to the mountains that Beth and Benny had. He shoved the small pile into the pot.

"All in." he said crossing his arms. There was nothing to lose. If he didn't lose this hand he would surely lose the next, or the one after that. It was only a matter of time before he would have no chips while Beth and Benny would have all of them. The audience was silent. What would happen next? A confident Benny just smiled, pushing in his much larger pile of chips into the pot. A few people clapped. It was a bold move. What if Sam had a better hand than him? He could've just matched it. Surprisingly, Beth pushed her pile of chips in as well. The pot was 90,000 caps. More than anyone would need in a lifetime. This was it. The end of the game. Who ever won would probably be richer than the casinos on the Strip.

"Well look at that. All right, show your cards." Swank said.

Benny turned one card over at a time. The first was a Jack of Clubs. The second was a Jack of Spades. Benny had a four of a kind. The audience went wild, many people were clapping. Swank quieted them down.

"We're not done yet." He said angrily. He gestured for Beth to show her cards. She flicked them over, an Ace of Diamonds and a Two of Spades. Of course it didn't beat Benny's cards, not by a mile. A voice called out from the audience.

"COME ON! HE'S WON ALREADY!"

"Shut up you buffoon before I have you kicked out of this casino!" Swank snapped. The room went quiet. "Now will you please show us your cards, uh…Mr…Black Ghost?"

Sam looked to Benny. He wanted him to remember this moment, remember the day he was beat by the Black Ghost. All eyes were on him. He turned over his first card. Then his second. The Eight of Hearts, and the Ten of Hearts. Putting the hearts on the table, The Seven of Hearts, the Nine of Hearts, and the Jack of Hearts gave Sam a straight flush. Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, and Jack of hearts. And in the rules of classical poker, a straight flush beats a four of a kind. Sam had won. The audience gasped. You only saw that kind of stuff on old Pre-War holotapes. Benny was staring at the cards, mouth open. Sam looked to Beth, who smiled. For a moment everything was silent. Then everyone burst into applause and yelling. 90,000! They were all his to take and spend however he pleased. But just as quickly the mood of joyfulness had spread across the room, so did the mood of panic. The other man at the table pulled stood pulling a gun out of his pocket. It all seemed to happen in slow motion for Sam. The man fired, the silent whisper of the sound was barely audible. The .22 bullet struck Benny in the chest, and he fell to the ground, clutching the wound. At the same time several men in the audience pulled out guns. All small pistols, easily concealable. They open fired. The man who had shot Benny had disappeared in a flash. He was already at Benny's body, searching it for some odd reason. Sam saw a man in the crowd wielding a small sub machine gun, an old Pre-War gun called the Mini-Uzi aim at Beth. He leaped across the table, tackling her to the floor as the 9x19mm Parabellum Bullets harmlessly peppered the poker table and chair she had been sitting on. Sam pulled the Blackhawk out, firing a quick shot at the man who had fired upon Beth. The .44 magnum cartridge slammed into the man's head, between his eyes. Sam didn't wait to see him fall. He turned to Beth.

"Get out of here now. Find Boone, or whoever. Just get out of here!" he said. He scrambled off of her, pistol in hand looking for the man who had been at the table. Benny was still lying on the ground, a pool of blood was surrounding him. Sam looked to the entrance of the Tops, and saw him. The man. He seemed to look back at Sam, and then Sam realized he had seen him before. Back in Nipton, the burning town. He remembered the voice. What had been his name? Vulpes Inculta. He was going to start charging for him, then realized he would never find him. With the panic of the people who had been watching he could blend in easily, and slip away. Sam cursed and turned his attention back to Benny. Sam hated him. He needed to die. But as much as he wanted him dead, he also needed him alive. He crouched next to him. "I have a Stimpack right here. Tell me what I need to know, and you'll live."

Benny seemed horrified. Even Swank, who was watching them did nothing. Benny nodded, and Sam injected him with the Stimpak. Then he turned to Swank.

"Go cash in the my chips. I want my money." He said. Swank hurriedly scooped up the chips into a tray and ran towards the cashier. Sam turned back to the still alive Benny. "Now, where were we?"

* * *

It had taken a ridiculous amount of time to get back to the Lucky 38. Boone and Arcade were waiting for her.

"Where's Sam?" Boone asked. For once, the sniper's tone was different, this time curious.

"I don't know. Still back in there I guess." She said panting. "I got it though. The Platinum Chip."

She turned her back to them, pulling the chip and the gun from their hiding place under her dress. She turned around holding both. Arcade pointed to the pistol questioningly.

"It's the gun I got shot in the head with." She explained.

"You're one messed up woman." Arcade said shaking his head. Victor sneaked up behind them and tapped Beth on the shoulder.

"I believe you have the Platinum Chip?" asked the Securitron. Beth nodded. "Good. Although today the Strip was quite…different, you mission was a success! See Mr. House as soon as you can."

The Securitron rolled away, humming. Boone shook his head. "Never going to get used to that guy."

Sam had had Benny tell him everything. He was surprised at the complexity of his plan. An independent New Vegas. Benny had even told him of his Securitron hidden in his room. Eventually, Sam knew everything Benny knew. He took the Blackhawk and aimed it at Benny's head.

"B-B-But you said I could live!" Benny said.

"I lied." Sam said pulling the trigger. Blood splattered over his armor as Benny, leader of the Chairmen and the Tops died. He turned to Swank, who had his duffel bag, now even more filled with caps. He took it from him. "Looks like you're in charge now. Don't fuck anything up or I'll be back."

Swank watched as Sam left the casino, whistling for his dog Rex. The Black Ghost wasn't somebody to cross. He would have to watch where he stepped from now on, lest he end up like Benny.

* * *

The duffel bag was extremely heavy, loaded with 90,000 caps. Even Sam who had always kept himself in shape since he left the vault had trouble with it. He took a sack out of the duffel bag, putting as many caps he could fit in it as possible. He gave it to Rex to hold. The first stop he made was Camp McCarran. The three NCR officials were there waiting for them.

"I didn't get what Mr. House wants. But I know what it is." Sam told them. He tossed the large duffel bag of caps on a table, making it shudder with the weight of it. "It's called the Platinum Chip. Benny had it, but he's dead. I have no idea where it is now."

"Where do you think it is?" the female NCR official asked him.

"No idea. can I leave now?" Sam said bored. They were all silent. He took it as a yes.

Sam turned to leave. Colonel Hsu called out to him. "What about the caps?"

Sam turned back to him. "Keep it. Try to use it for something useful will you?"

* * *

It was nighttime. Beth was sitting outside the Lucky 38. Both Boone and Arcade were back in their rooms, sleeping. She was wearing her old clothes casual clothes. There was a beer bottle in her hand. She looked at it disdainfully, but took another swig of the beer. Then she saw him walking towards her. Sam. She stayed seated, but he came to her and sat down next to her anyways.

"So." He said. Beth laughed a little. "It's been awhile."

"Yeah. Yeah I guess it has." She said looking at him. He turned to look at her, removing his helmet.

"I was planning on hitting up Vault 21. Finding more about my parents. I heard it's in the Strip too. Want to come?" he asked. She nodded. Sam stood up and offered her his hand to help her up. She took it. Then she noticed Sam had someone with him. A dog. The King's dog in particular.

"Is that Rex?" she asked. The dog seemed to recognize her. He jumped up at her, trying to lick her face. She laughed, and tried to calm him down. The trio walked to Vault 21, now a hotel and gift shop. A blonde woman named Sarah was there, dressed in a Vault 21 jumpsuit.

"Do you have anything that used to be part of this vault? That's not a jumpsuit?"

"Well I have lunchboxes, musical instruments, baseballs-"

"I meant anything…personal. Any pictures?" Sam interrupted. The woman, Sarah began rummaging behind her cashier desk. In a minute she pulled out a picture of a man and woman. The man was Sam's father, James. He looked younger, more serious not unlike Sam. The woman in the picture must've been his mother. She was shorter than James, with long black hair caught in a ponytail, and a cheerful face. The picture brought a tear to Sam's eye. He wished his father was still alive. He wished his mother had survived giving birth to him. He wished he had never left Vault 101. But then he threw those thoughts aside. If it weren't for him, the Enclave would be the undisputed rulers of the Capital Wasteland. If it weren't for him, the Brotherhood would've never settled their disputes with the Outcasts. If it weren't for him the slaves in the Pitt would've never found Freedom. If it weren't for him the alien Mothership Zeta's prisoners would've never been free. If it weren't for him Megaton would just be some rubble in the Wasteland. By now tears were flowing freely from his eyes. Beth saw it and hugged him close.

"Can we keep this?" she asked Sarah. The woman nodded, and left he Courier and Lone Wanderer to themselves. After awhile they broke apart. "If you ever want to talk about it, or anything, just talk to me, okay?"

Sam nodded, and the two walked together with Rex back to the Lucky 38. Victor greeted them.

"Hello! Is this a friend?" Victor asked.

"Sure is Victor. Do you have a room for him and his dog?"

"He could stay in your room." Suggested Victor. Beth flushed but nodded anyways. She led Sam and Rex to the elevator, and pressed the button for the 37th floor. When they arrived Beth pointed to a door across from her room.

"I guess that's yours. There's only one bathroom so…" Beth said trailing off. Sam opened the door to the room. Beth was curious to find out what was behind it. The room was just as big as Beth's, though it seemed more for a man than a woman. There was a large window behind the bed, just like in Beth's. A large bookshelf held many intact Pre-War books, as well as a baseball, a baseball mitt, and a baseball bat. A closet was opposite to it. Sam whistled.

"Living life high up here huh?" he said to her. Beth just shrugged, leaving the room and closing the door behind her. A few moments later after Sam had stripped out of his Chinese Stealth Suit and had redressed himself in a T-Shirt and shorts, he heard water running from the bathroom. Beth was probably taking a shower, he realized. He looked back at the picture of his mother and father before laying it on the drawer next to his bed and laid down. Rex came over and licked his hand dangling off the bed. Sam looked at the dog, and saw he was still carrying the large sack of caps he had given it. Sam smiled, and patted Rex on the head.

"Good boy." He said. He took one of the pillows and dropped it to the floor for the dog. Rex barked before resting his head on it. Before Sam knew it, he had fallen asleep and was sleeping in a deep sleep, dreaming.

* * *

In his dream he was back in Vault 101. He was playing pool with Amata. Checking his Pip-Boy, he found the date to be February 26, 2280. He realized that meant he was 21, as it was his birthday. Amata knocked in the eight ball, grinning as he threw his hands up.

"Thought you were supposed to let the birthday boy win?" he said smiling. She threw the pool stick back on the table, and moved closer to him.

"Remember your tenth birthday?" she said giggling. Sam laughed too. They were but kids back then. "Remember what you thought I got you for your birthday?"

Sam laughed again. "A date with Christine Kendall?"

"Yeah." Amata said tiredly, leaning against he pool table. Sam went next to her and leaned on it as well.

"I think I'd rather have a date with you than with Christine." Sam said to her. Amata turned to him, looking into his gray-blue eyes. Then she slugged him.

"Ow! What was that for?" Sam said clutching his arm. Amata giggled.

"You're already on a date with me."

Both of them laughed. Sam grabbed Amata in a bear hug wrenching her into the air. She laughed even more. Sam put her down on the pool table, and their lips met. It was nice but…too familiar. He broke apart from the kiss, and gasped. The red haired Amata had turned into a blonde Sarah Lyons. Amata/Sarah got up from the table, and pulled him in a tight embrace and kissed him. He was too shocked to do anything. Then, when they broke apart, it was Beth in Amata/Sarah's place. Sam backpedaled, and fell back into a dark black hole. He woke up with a start, breathing heavily.

* * *

He grabbed his Pip-Boy from the drawer beside his bed, checking the time, year, month, and day. October 3rd, 2279. It was also 5:00 in the morning. He laid back, panting and wiping the sweat from his forehead. It was just a dream. He got up from the bed and went to the bathroom to take a cold shower.

The cold water woke him up quickly. He washed himself, enjoying the clean smell after not bathing for quite awhile. The last time he had taken a shower was back in the Capital Wasteland. When he was done he wrapped a towel around his waist, and then left the bathroom. When he was at his room's door Beth's door opened. He turned back at her. Beth couldn't help but notice the strong muscles across his chest and arms.

"You up already?" she finally asked. Sam could see she was probably naked, or wearing skimpy sleepwear from the way she concealed most of herself behind the door.

"Uh, yeah. Are you okay? Your eyes are kind of big and red." He said noticing her eyes. She seemed freaked out by the comment, and shut the door immediately. Sam shrugged to himself, and reentered his room and redressing in his T-Shirt and Shorts. An hour later someone knocked on his door. He opened it, revealing Boone, dressed in his 1st Recon Survival Armor with his Hunting Rifle slung over his back. His signature beret and sunglasses were worn on his head and face respectively.

"Hey." Sam said.

"I need to get out of here man. Place gives me the creeps and I don't like having no trouble. Makes me nervous. You up for a road trip?" asked the grizzled sniper.

"Yeah give me a second. Gotta get my stuff." Sam said. He closed the door, and quickly dressed into his Chinese Stealth Armor. He threw his katana in it's sheath with a strap over his shoulders, as well as the Blackhawk on his thigh. He left his trench knife next to the picture of his parents. He took up his backpack as well, stuffing in a few drinks and some rations. He picked up the large sack of caps next to Rex, but then tossed it under the bed. He wouldn't need it. He considered bringing Rex as well, but decided against it eventually. Boone probably wouldn't want a dog tagging along. He met Boone back on the first floor lobby.

"Let's go."


	10. Chapter 10: The Rose of Sharon Cassidy

**Authors Note**

**kistune-demon16: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy it. **

**DesertStar87: I added Cass in this chapter. ED-E will unfortunately not be making an appearance in this one though. I'm thinking of having Arcade and someone else find him. Either Beth or Sam. **

**ScarletChakra: I had Arcade notice it in this chapter, and tell her off on it. She'll be off the chems...for now. Who knows where this story will take her?**

**TiredTired: I'm sorry that you think that, and I appreciate the criticism. In my defense, I would like to say Fallout is a messed up world. People do things in the game to get by, or to get what they want. I also wanted to not portray Beth as the perfect hero that the Mojave needs. She does chems, she had sex for a poker chip. Everybody has flaws, and I'm trying to get to her to a point of people thinking of her as someone who has to help people because she can, not because she wants to. That's a little confusing, but eh.**

**Dark Flygon Naxi: You clever devil. I did not have them pick up ED-E, because I would like to add the little eyebot with Arcade and another character. And because two companions added in one chapter was a little too much for me.**

**Drust: I am sorry you think the same as TiredTired. If you are reading this, please read what I said to him above, as I would not like to copy and paste. And about Sarah Lyons, I have plans for her for a battle for Hoover Dam. I'll have to think about it though.**

**Ace Venom: Hahahaha, I'm not going to lie, I didn't mean to write it like that. **

**ZeroHeroes23: I'm EXTREMELY sorry I didn't make it clear, but the dream was as if he had never left the Vault. When I was writing, I actually looked up the date, and decided of the dream as if he and his father had never left the Vault. Sorry if it was unclear, thank you for pointing it out for me.**

**Ovall Aocrog: Thank you for reading and reviewing. :)**

**Okay, well this one is for EVERYONE:**

**I'd just like to say thank you for everyone who reads and reviews, whether you like it or not. It means a lot. Also, some people have added the story to their favorites and subscriptions or whatever. Don't be afraid to comment or review, although you don't have to. I reply to everyone, and always answer everyone's questions. Once again, thank you for reading, and enjoy. **

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* * *

**

Beth awoke the next morning with a headache. Had she woken in the middle of the night? Then she remembered. She had woken and saw Sam, and he had commented on her eyes. She got up from the bed and took a look at herself in her mirror. Her eyes were fine now. She looked back at the bed, seeing an empty syringe on a pillow. She dived back into the bed, and dug into her drawer for another syringe of Med-X. She injected herself with it, and frowned when she realized she didn't have that relaxing feeling. She took another one. Ah. That was better. A knock at her door made her get up and open it. It was Victor. He held a tray of food, as always. He handed it to her, along with a piece of paper.

"This is for you from Mr. Boone and your other friend." He told her. He rolled away after closing the door behind him. Beth curiously opened the letter.

Boone and I are out on a road trip I guess. We'll be back in a couple of days. Take care of Rex for me. He likes Brahmin Steaks, but don't spoil him.

-Sam

She tossed the note aside, and noticed the Platinum Chip, which she had carelessly thrown in one of the shelves of her drawer. House would probably be expecting it. She checked her Pip-Boy, which she now used as a clock. It was noontime already. How late did she sleep last night?

If Boone and Sam were gone, then the only person to talk to in the Lucky 38 would be Arcade. She stripped out of her sleepwear and was about to redress in her leather armor, but realized it was in poor condition. She would have to get it repaired or even replace it sooner or later. Jeans and a T-Shirt would have to do for now.

Arcade was in the main lobby as usual, this time nose deep in a Pre-War magazine about medicine. He looked up as she approached.

"Boone and Sam are gone." She told him. He merely nodded. Of course he knew, he was Arcade. She sat down beside him. "So, how long have you been with the Followers?"

Arcade looked up from his magazine again. He looked slightly annoyed. "Not forever I suppose."

"Where'd you come from?"

"What's with all the questions?" he said angrily. Beth seemed a little taken back by his response. After she didn't reply he sighed. "You can't speak of this to anyone. No matter what. If you say anything-"

"I won't" Beth said interrupting him. He nodded and continued.

"My family…All of us are Enclave. Not any more I guess though. Sure we're not known much by the people around here, but hey, that's the point."

"I don't get it. Why don't you want to be known?"

"West of the Colorado, used to be an Enclave base, Navarro. The NCR assaulted the base. The people who didn't die in the fight had to escape. I was just a kid back then. Only had my mom, and my…other family."

"What do you mean your other family?"

"Group of people who served in the same unit as my father before he died. They're all great people. Anyways, we tried to flee and integrate into civilian life, but the NCR and Brotherhood were trying to track us down. We eventually came here."

"So where are these people? Why aren't you with them?"

"Most of them are in hiding, posing as regular wasetelanders. I joined the Followers so I could help people without shooting more people. The Remnants helped my mother and me escape the NCR. I'll never forget it. I just hope one day I can repay them."

"Remnants? Is that what you call them?"

Arcade nodded. Beth put a hand on his shoulder. "If you ever need to talk about it, just come find me."

* * *

"Primm is pretty close by. We could stop there for the night." Sam told Boone. The sniper shook his head in response. So far their trip was quite eventless, only coming across a few Powder Gangers. Sam was under the impression Boone was looking for something. Probably Legion. "Where then?"

"Mojave Outpost further south. Ranger Jackson there owes me a favor. Safer place to rest for the night." Boone said.

Sam let him lead the way. It was late when they got there. They passed a huge statue of tow people shaking hands right before they got there. Sam asked Boone about it, but he just shrugged.

Ranger Jackson turned out to be a middle-aged man, with a growing beard. He was surprised to see Boone, but nonetheless offered the two a place to rest for the night. Boone hit the bed immediately.

"I'm going to sleep." Boone told him.

"I think I'm going to get a drink. Not that tired yet." Sam replied. He asked Ranger Jackson where he could get a drink, and was directed to a small bar inside the outpost run by an African American woman named Lacey.

He sat down in front of her, and ordered a whiskey. Lacey laughed a little at his request. He looked at her from behind his helmet strangely.

"Nothing," she said getting the drink. "It's funny though, poor woman over there has been drowning herself in whiskey ever since she found this place. Hey, I'm not complaining though."

Sam looked over the small bar to see the inhabitants. A woman, with pale white skin was in a corner drinking a beer. She looked albino to him, but he didn't say anything. Another woman, who was sitting at the bar with him, had red hair tied up in a ponytail. A beat up cowboy's hat was on her head. A suede leather jacket was hung over a chair next to her. She wore a pink and white plaid shirt, unbutton far down enough was him to see a small pendant around her neck. He guessed she must but the woman Lacey was talking about.

"What's wrong with her?" Sam asked as Lacey handed him a bottle of whiskey. He removed his helmet, popped the cork of the whiskey bottle and took a swig of the whiskey.

"Lost her caravan. Poor girl is so hung up about it." Lacey said. She might've said it a little too loud because the woman she was talking about stood up from her chair and threw her empty whiskey bottle at her. Sam acted quickly and lunged forward, catching the bottle with his free hand.

"Don't talk about me like you know me Lacey!" yelled the woman. Her hat had fallen off, as well as whatever held her hair in a ponytail leaving her red hair flowing down on her shoulders.

The woman gruffly picked up the hat stuffed it back on her head. Sam walked over to her, hand with the empty whiskey bottle out.

"I think you dropped this." Sam said. The woman lashed out unexpectedly at him, hitting a glancing blow to his chin. He could taste blood. When Sam looked back at her she was coming for him again.

He dodged her next punch, as well as blocking a round kick to his side. She punched again, but this time Sam caught her by the wrist. She tried hitting him with her other hand, but he dropped the whiskey bottle in his hand, grabbing her by that wrist too. After a few seconds of struggling her let her go.

"What's your deal?" Sam asked her. The woman cursed loudly and sat back down in her seat. Sam joined her. "I said, what's your problem?"

The red haired woman looked back to him strangely, wondering whom this man was. Then she had an idea. A stupid one, but it was a start.

"How about you buy me a drink? Several. We can have a little contest here."

"If I win will you tell me what's your problem?"

"You won't."

Sam took it as a yes and ordered several more whiskeys. He drank the small bottle quickly, and then looked back to the red haired woman. Hell! She had already started her second. He quickly drank that one as well. Lacey the bartender just watched as the two drank themselves drunk, and shook her head.

No matter how many drinks Sam drank, the woman matched him. He stared at the empty whiskey bottles in front of him wearily. Maybe4 or 5 were his. The woman seemed to be on the brink of collapse. He thought tiredly to himself, How the hell did I get into this situation. He heard the woman's voice, but it sounded like she was far away.

"You're pretty good…call it…a truce?"

Sam turned to her, and saw her hand was pointed to him. He slapped it, tried to stand, and fell back in his chair.

"You never told me your name." Sam said.

"You can call me Cass." She said. She gave a yawn, indicating she was tired. "Hey…Lacey…can I sleep here again?"

"Sure." Lacey replied.

"Can he sleep here?" Cass said pointed to Sam. He nodded his head a couple of times. Lacey sighed.

"Yeah, okay. Why not?"

Sam stood up, as well as Cass. She collapsed on him for support, and they stood there like drunken idiots trying to regain composure. Eventually they made their way into a room behind the bar. There was a mattress on top of a cot, as well as a chair in the room. Hardly anything compared the Lucky 38.

"Only one bed." Cass told him.

* * *

Sam woke up the next morning with a nasty headache. He sat up, and jumped at the sound of the mattress he was sleeping on creak. Then he realized he was naked, and looked around the room for his armor. His gaze fell upon a woman next to him. Shit. He stood up, dressing back in his armor. He couldn't find his helmet. Shit. Cass woke up as well, rubbing her eyes.

"Uh…hello?" she said. Sam turned to her. She got out of the bed as well, dressing in her clothes. There was an awkward moment between the two as they stood there staring at each other.

"Uh…listen…I kind of have to leave. With my friend, Boone. So…uh…I guess I'm saying bye." Sam said awkwardly. He began to turn away, when she caught his arm.

"Let me come with you." Cass told him.

"Excuse me?" Sam said surprised.

"I said let me come with you. I'm tired of drowning myself in whiskey every night at this place. Let me come with you. Please."

Sam sighed. "Look, things are a lot more complicated. You see I've been traveling with this woman named Beth. Somehow she landed herself in the Lucky 38 in New Vegas. So I live there with her. My friend Boone too."

Cass looked at him blankly. "Uh…what?"

Sam sighed again. This was difficult. And weird. "All I'm saying is, if you want to come with me, then a lot of weird stuff happens. Just saying."

Cass gave him a mischievous grin. "Then I'm in."

Sam rubbed his forehead as if he was thinking. How on Earth was he going to explain this to Boone? But as it turned out, Boone was still his emotionless self when Sam told him Cass would be traveling with them.

"Lucky 38 has a ton of floors and rooms. I'm sure Victor can find a room for you." Sam told Cass.

"Who's Victor?" she asked curiously.

"A Securitron who works for Mr. House."

Cass shook her head, but didn't say anything. Robots crept her out. She cleared her throat before speaking. "Um…listen. If you don't mind I kind of want to find my caravan. Pay my respects, you know?"

"Sure, we'll make a stop on our way back to the Strip." Sam said dismissively.

* * *

Vulpes Inculta was a very patient man. After escaping the chaos of the Tops the previous day he had changed back into his armor, as well as remobilized the survivors of his Frumentarii group. Stalking the Black Ghost had been easy. There had been one close call when his companion, one with a sniper had almost seen one of his scouts. Although they could no engage them while they were at the Mojave Outpost, he knew they would leave sooner or later.

He had set up a trap for them at the Nipton Road Reststop, which was an inevitable location they would pass. It had been infested with Radscorpions, but his Frumentarii had made easy work of it. He knew of the Black Ghost's uncanny ability to turn invisible, but he doubted his sniper companion could. That was where his new toy would come in. He snapped his fingers and one of his Frumentarii came running to him.

"I want you to take 3 of your fellow Frumentarri and hide up on the hill over there. Take the Missile Launcher with you. If you see the Black Ghost and his companion approach, shoot them on sight."

The Frumentarii soldier quickly left Vulpes, yelling at three others to help him. Vulpes smiled to himself. The Missile Launcher had been easy to come by. Traveling traders were always easy prey. If the Black Ghost survived the explosion, then the rest of the Frumentarii would kill him easily. There was no way he would escape. And he could hand Caesar his head, and once again be rewarded for his skills of sabotage. It was only a matter of time before the Black Ghost would walk straight into his trap.

Boone raised a hand for the group to stop. He looked through his sniper's scope, and frowned.

"Legion up ahead at that rest stop we passed earlier Sam. I count 5 of them, one with a coyote's fur on his head too."

Sam drew the Blackhawk cautiously. Cass took out a shotgun from her back Sam heard a sound in the air. It was so familiar. He realized what it was.

"Shit!" yelled Sam.

He dived forward, to the ground. Cass and Boone were quick to react. They jumped away too, just as a missile flew right where they had been before, exploding. He got up quickly looking for the source of the missile. There, up on the hill. He saw a group of 4 Legion soldiers reloading a new missile into the Missile Launcher. He yelled for Boone and Cass to get to cover, and opened fired upon the Legion Soldiers. Boone had ignored his warning and opened fired as well, managing to kill one of the Legion on the hill. Cass had a different strategy though. The Legion Boone had spotted at the rest stop were charging at them. She fired her shotgun, taking out one of their kneecaps before shooting again and finishing him off.

"Sam!" yelled Cass. He had forgotten about the Legion on the lower ground. He turned, ready to fire his Blackhawk when suddenly something sliced the barrel of the gun off. The weapon was making a loud humming sound. He looked to see it was a Ripper, wielded by none other than Vulpes Inculta, the Legion Frumentarii who he had met in Nipton.

"So we meet again." Vulpes said sneering. He took another swipe with his Ripper, but Sam dodged it, drawing his katana.

It would be hard combating against a Ripper. The rotating blades of the handheld chainsaw could easily cut through armor, as well as snap his katana if he wasn't careful. Vulpes took another swipe, which Sam dodged again by backing up. Sam countered with a swipe from his katana, which cut into the metal shoulder plate of Vulpes' armor, but otherwise did no damage. The blow jarred Sam's elbow, which Vulpes took advantage of by giving Sam a strong right hook, which made him drop his katana and drop to the ground. Vulpes tried to stab downwards at Sam while he was on the ground, but Sam turned invisible, and rolled out of the way. A sharp kick to the groin made Vulpes lose control of his Ripper. Sam grabbed him by the throat with both hand and began to choke him. The leader of the Frumentarii would not give up however. He arched his head back and flung it forward into the hard helmet of the invisible Chinese Stealth suit. It broke the stealth field for a second, and with his free hand he punched Sam in the face again. Sam lost his grip on Vulpes' throat, and rolled away. He deactivated the stealth field as he stood up. Vulpes stood up as well, rubbing his forehead in pain.

"You're strong. For a scum of this wasteland." Vulpes told him, breathing heavily. Behind his helmet Sam was breathing heavily as well.

Sam charged towards Vulpes and tackled him to the ground. Vulpes was quick to react, however. His fallen Ripper was just within his reach. He snatched it up as Sam gave him a vicious punch to the face, breaking his nose. Ignoring the pain he turn his Ripper back on and tried to stab forward with it, then realizing with his freehand Sam had pinned Vulpes' arm to the ground. Sam's fist was the last thing he saw before he was knock unconscious.

Sam stood up and looked around him. Boone had just finished taking out the last Legion soldier on the hill. Cass had blown the heads off of every other soldier with her shotgun. Sam was impressed. He collected his katana exhaustedly, and then found the remaining parts of the Blackhawk. The damage to it was too much. No matter how much duct tape he put on it, it wouldn't fire a bullet straight ever again. Sadly he took the parts and shoved them in his backpack. Cass ran up to him, breathing heavily.

"Hell, if you guys do this all the time, and there's some whiskey involved then I'm set for life."

"What are we going to do with him?" Boone asked pointing to Vulpes. Sam crossed his arms over his chest. Boone decided to speak his mind. "We should just kill him. Who knows how many he killed, or will kill?"

Sam let the sniper load another shot into his hunting rifle. He watched as Boone perfectly executed a shot between Vulpes' eyes, killing him instantly. The trio started to walk away. Only Sam looked back once before turning his back to the fallen corpses. As far as he knew, they deserved it.

* * *

Beth heard a knock at her door. It didn't sound like a hard metallic sound, so it must be a person. She opened the door to reveal Arcade. She let him in and plopped down on her bed.

"What's up?" she asked. Arcade stood where he was. He sighed.

"I know the signs Beth. Big red eyes, sense of invincibleness, change in mood. Your taking something. A chem. If I were to guess it would be Med-X."

Beth stomach turned upside down. So he knew. So what? It didn't change anything. She was still a chem head. When she didn't answer Arcade continued to speak.

"I bet you're probably taking two to get the same effect as one now. It's called tolerance. Soon you'll be taking two just to feel normal. You're killing yourself here."

"It's none of your business!" she yelled. Arcade took a step back.

"Look, if you want help, Dr. Usanagi at the New Vegas medical clinic is always open. Pay a visit there. All I'm saying is eventually you're going to kill yourself. Overdose maybe. Just think about it." Arcade finished. He left the room closing the door behind him.

Beth shoved her face into a pillow and cursed. She was about to reach for a Med-X to calm herself down when her hand brushed the Platinum Chip. Looking up from the pillow, she realized she still needed to talk to House about it. With a sigh she pulled on her boots and walked to the elevator, pressing the button for the 38th floor. House wasn't surprised to see her.

"Well I see you've finally decided to come up here." Said Mr. House.

"I've got it." Beth said holding up the Platinum Chip.

"Good. Give it to Victor here for me. There's something you need to see."

* * *

Sam, Cass, and Boone met no resistance on their way to New Vegas. They found the remains of Cass' caravan on the way. Sam thought he saw a tear come to her eye, but it was quickly replaced by a look of anger.

"This wasn't Legion or wildlife. Look." She said showing Sam her hand. A handful of ashes flew from her open palm. At first Sam was confused, then realized it must've come from an energy weapon. Specifically, a Laser Rifle.

"Looks like the ashes made from a Laser Rifle shooting something." Sam said. Cass nodded.

"Listen, if it's still not too much there are two more caravans I've heard that have been hit. I'd like it if we could look for them."

"It's getting late." Boone said, staring off to the Lucky 38.

"Boone's right. We should get some rest and start in the morning." Sam told her. She nodded in acceptance.

When they arrived at the Strip, Sam noticed something different. The Securitrons looked like somehow had modified them to have missile launchers and stronger plating. Cass voiced her concern.

"You sure we're safe here?" she asked. Sam nodded, but was unsure. When they entered the Lucky 38, Beth and Arcade were waiting for them. Sam introduced Cass to them.

"This is Cass." He explained. "She lost her caravan, I found her at the Mojave outpost near Primm."

Cass eyed Beth up, and scoffed a little, as if she couldn't believe Sam followed someone like her. Beth was about to hit her, but Victor rolled in.

"Hello there partner! You'll be needing a room if your staying here, no? Follow me!" Victor said happily. Cass looked uncertainly at Sam, who just gestured for her to follow. She did, although reluctantly,

"Securitrons got an upgrade." Beth said.

"We noticed." Boone replied. "Is it from that weird do-hickey you got for House?"

"Yeah. Listen, guys, I uh…might not be here for a few days. I'll be visiting someone. Just try not to burn down the place, okay?" Beth said. Sam could've sworn she glanced at Arcade, but he pushed the thought aside.

"You leaving now?" Sam asked.

"In the morning tomorrow." She replied. Her tone seemed nervous, so he didn't push for details. He yawned unexpectedly.

"Well, I'm beat. Think I'm gonna hit the back early tonight." He said walking to the elevator. Boone joined him. When they were gone, Beth turned to Arcade.

"Thank you." She told him. He merely nodded, and tried not to say a witty remark back.

* * *

Sam had gotten Cass' floor number from Victor. Floor 27, which had been a woman only floor before the bombs fell according to Victor. There were 4 bedrooms, as well as 4 bathrooms. Cass had picked one of the rooms furthest down the hall. He knocked on the door, and entered when he heard her voice telling him to come in. He entered, and saw her jacket was discarded, as well as her hat. He thought she looked a lot better without the hat and her hair down. It looked like she had just taken a bath as her hair was plastered to her face.

"Liking it okay here?" he asked.

"It's not bad. Robots creep me out though." She told him. There was a pause. "Do you always wear that?"

She meant the Chinese Stealth suit he guessed. He shrugged.

"I don't know. Do I?" he said moving close to her. She stepped back, and put hand on his chest between them.

"No. Stop." She said. Sam backed up with his hands up. "Look. You're great and all, but I know what kind of guy you are."

"What kind of guy am I then?" Sam said smiling beneath his helmet. Cass playfully shoved him out of her room, and shut the door. "We still looking for those caravans tomorrow?" he shouted. He took her silence as a yes, and went back up to his room.

* * *

The Legionnaire knew Caesar's temper could rise easily. That's why he didn't want to be the one to tell him Vulpes Inculta was dead. He had just been minding his previous orders, scout the Mojave, and learn as much as he could before reporting back. He guessed this was a good enough excuse as anything. Lucius shoved him in Caesar's tent roughly, but stayed outside. Maybe he didn't want to face his wrath as well? He bowed uneasily in front of Caesar. When he drew up his head he gazed upon the gauntlet on his hand. He had seen him use it before. It hadn't been pretty.

"My lord," he said nervously. "The leader of the Frumentarii, Vulpes Inculta, is…dead."

He wondered if he was going to die now. But he sighed in relief as Caesar merely shook his head.

"Get up." Caesar commanded. "Who killed him?"

"We believe it was the Black Ghost my lord."

"This 'Ghost' has become a pain in my head. I want you to find and kill him, no matter what the cost. Your are now the leader of the Frumentarii. Congratulations. Now leave me."

The Legionnaire could not believe his luck. He had managed not only to survive, but ranked up as well. Maybe something good had come out of this after all. Lucius shoved something heavy into his arms on his way out. He looked down to see it was bloodied and dented armor. Vulpes Inculta's.

"If you're going to be Vulpes' replacement, you might as well wear his armor." Growled Lucius before stomping off.

"I know who did this." Cass said to Sam. They were at another caravan, burned and sacked. This time, there were a couple of intact bodies. Cass seemed to know who they were.

"Who?"

"Looks like the Van Graffs. You can tell by the energy weapons. But there's no way they could've known where the caravans were going. Someone must've told them." Cass said. She thought for a moment, and cursed. "Crimson Caravan. They must've helped."

"What are we going to do about it?" Sam asked uncertainly.

"We're going to bust in and kill everyone of them." Cass said. Her voice was full of hate and contempt. Sam shook his head.

"What will that give you? A bounty? How about we find some evidence and show it to the NCR?" Sam suggested. Cass still seemed angry, but conceded his point. She spit angrily.

"Find the evidence. I'll be waiting back at the Lucky 38. If you don't bring me something by midnight, I'm going to blast all of their heads off." Cass said stomping into the distance. Sam shook his head.

The headquarters of the Crimson Caravans was easy enough to find. He had even met someone unexpectedly.

"Hey, knew you'd come around sometime. Where's that girl friend of your?" Ringo greeted. The two shook hands.

"Out on a trip or something. Say, could you help me with something by chance?" Sam asked. Ringo shrugged. "I have it to belief the Crimson Caravans and the Van Graff family have been taking out caravans along the Mojave. I need to know why, and evidence."

Ringo shook his head and seemed nervous, but spoke truthfully. "Look, if there's any evidence it's probably in the safe in her office. Just don't get caught!" he warned. Sam smiled beneath the mask.

"Thanks Ringo." He said. He started heading towards a building labeled office, when Ringo called out his name, tossing him a small sack jingling with caps.

"That's the rest of the payment for helping me back in Goodsprings. Thank you." He said.

Sam nodded and turned invisible, sneaking into the office. He saw the safe, located under a desk. It was locked though. He reached for his Blackhawk, to blow the lock with a shot and realized he didn't have it anymore. It was in pieces, laying on a table in his room back at the Lucky 38. Cursing, he opened drawers of the desk and found a screwdriver and a bobbypin. He made a reminder to himself to buy a new gun later. The lock clicked as he picked it, and he reached into to find a sack of caps as well as a piece of paper. He read over the paper quickly, and shoved it into his backpack for evidence. His eyes fell on the sack of caps. Might as well. He shoved the sack in his backpack as well, and closed the safe. He checked his Pip-Boy for the time. 8:23. He still had plenty of time.

When he arrived back at the Lucky 38 Cass didn't seem pleased to see him. He handed her the paper, which she read over.

"This isn't enough." She declared. He picked up her shotgun and loaded it. Sam pushed the gun back down.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked her.

"There's only enough evidence there to incriminate the Crimson Caravan. They were smart, they didn't write about to each other directly so if one got caught, the other wouldn't. Shit."

"Okay, then I'll find the other piece of evidence. Where are the Van Graffs?"

"Freeside. They run Silver Rush, place that sells a bunch of energy weapons."

"Just wait for me Cass. Please. I'll be back soon." Sam said. He turned and started running. Cass looked at him as he left. Why was he not inclined to just spill their blood? It's not like they were innocent. She guessed he was just different. Maybe an old sinner trying to repent for his sins? Maybe.

Sam didn't head straight for the Van Graffs. Instead, he dropped by the Kings first. The King greeted him merrily, but asked where Rex was. Sam assured him he was safe, in the Lucky 38. The King took his word for it.

"I need a favor." Sam asked. The King nodded. "I think the Van Graffs might have something to do with recent caravans being sacked. I need to get in there, view a terminal or something."

"All right then. I'm sure Pacer could help you with that one. Come back safe, and not a pool of plasma." The King said laughing. Sam didn't get the joke.

Around two hours later, Sam was back at the Lucky 38. This time, he had another piece of paper in his hand. He gave it to Cass.

"Happy?" he asked her. She looked over it.

"Well it looks like you did it." Cass said. "Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you go through all of that trouble just to incriminate them? We could've just killed them."

Sam sighed. "When my dad died I wanted to kill the person who had killed him. I wanted to make him suffer and bleed before I killed him. Well, I finally got my chance. And you know what? It wasn't worth it. In the end I should've been blaming myself for not being able to save him.

Cass took it all in. Then she answered, "You didn't just make that up did you?"

Sam didn't answer. He just left her alone and went back up to his room. Rex probably wanted another Brahmin Steak.

* * *

Sam undressed from his armor, and tossed it on the bed. Beth wasn't back yet so he stripped out of his underpants as well and took a cold shower, washing his body with soap, his hair with shampoo, all supplied by Mr. House. He shivered at first when he stepped out from the shower, but the shivering stopped as he wrapped a towel around his waist. He went back to his room and smiled as Rex awoke from a slumber. He opened a refrigerator out in the hall, and grabbed a sealed "instant lunch" cup of noodles. He wondered what it meant by "instant lunch". He read instructions on the side of the sealed cup.

Open cup, add hot water. Wait for 1 minute.

Enjoy your noodles.

Seemed easy enough, there were only two steps, he thought. He went back into the bathroom, and ripped the plastic covering the top of the cup. He turned on the sink, making sure the knob he had turned was hot, and shoved the cup under the hot water. Instantly he smelled an aroma of spices. He quickly shut off the water before he burned himself. He brought the cup of noodles back to his room, and got a good look at his armor. He had to admit, it looked like something that belonged to some Pre-War comic book fanatic. The suit was durable though, and very useful. Most small caliber rounds wouldn't even pierce the armor, but they could still give him bruises. Although Power Armor gave more protection, he liked the Chinese Stealth Armor better for its convenience. He then realized he didn't have any eating utensils to eat with. He sipped the noodles and brother from the cup, deciding he wasn't in the mood to run around looking for Victor to tell him where the forks and spoons were.

It hadn't been hard, getting to the Mojave. But now that he had finally found something of his parents, he didn't really feel like staying. How was he going to get back to the Capital Wasteland? He shook the thought aside. He would deal with it later.

* * *

Beth was back the next morning. She looked tired, but happy. Sam was glad to see her back as well. He had been getting bored.

"I gave House the chip awhile back. He showed me some stuff. We're going to need to head to Caesar's fort soon. House says there's a bunker there that we need the Platinum Chip for." Beth said.

"What's all this stuff about the Legion and poker chips?" Cass asked. Beth ignored her.

"You up for a trip?" she asked Sam. He gave her a bare trace of a smile.

"Yeah. Where we headed?"

"I don't know. Boone, you want to come to?" Beth asked. Boone grunted for a yes.

"I was hoping to go to Bittersprings. I think I'm ready to face the past."

"Okay we'll head there then. I'll get my stuff." Beth said.

Cass scowled. The princess hadn't asked her to come with them? Sam noticed and gave her a shrug. He turned to Boone. Arcade continued reading, as he usually did. He didn't even noticed Beth hadn't asked him. He was happy where he was.

"Hey, wait for me okay? I'll be at that Gun Runners place. I need something to replace my old .44." Sam told Boone. He assured him he would tell Beth to wait.

Sam snatched up the sack of caps under his bed, as well as his backpack and sword. He was rushing out when he heard Rex bark. He looked back at the dog's whimpering eyes. He wanted to come along. He waved for the dog to follow. The more the merrier, right?

He had heard of Gun Runners before, but he didn't expect it to be some stand with a Protectron behind a glass window. He wondered how he would get a gun, if the person selling them was behind a window. He walked up to it regardless.

"I need a new handgun. Preferably something that shoots a high caliber bullet. I'm probably going to need something along the lines of an assault rifle as well." He said to the Protectron. He noticed it had a label on it, saying: Vendortron.

"Of course. Please have a look." Said the Vendortron, turning around. It picked up two guns from a shelf behind it, and placed them in front of Sam, but behind the glass window.

One of the guns was a revolver. It looked brand new, with a solid metal finish and a scope mounted on top of it. It was a pretty large handgun, but Sam thought it would fit easily in his hand. Sam moved his eyes from the revolver to the other pistol.

The other handgun had a hard chrome finish. The pistol was still large, but smaller than the revolver. The grip was a dark black. Sam pointed to it.

"What is that?" he asked.

"That is an old Pre-War pistol called the Desert Eagle. We found schematics for it and have been producing it ever since. No one has bought one yet though. Would you like to purchase it?"

"What kind of round does it shoot?"

"It shoots a rare round called the .50AE. Currently, only the Gun Runners sell them."

"What is it like?" Sam asked.

"The gun has much recoil, and I do not recommend it to anyone who is not very strong."

Sam shook his head. He didn't care how strong a pistol was, if it had that much recoil, he wasn't interested.

"Show me other handguns you have."

"Certainly." Said the Vendortron. He pulled out several other revolvers and semi-automatic handguns. One of them instantly caught Sam's eye.

"What's that one? Right there." Sam said pointing. The Vendortron picked it up.

"Hm. I don't remember seeing this before. Oh, look!" The Vendortron said, picking up a similar gun from the pile. Both had black handle grips, but they were both different in the aspect of the barrels. Both had intricate designs on it, but they differed in color. One was a shining silver, another a glowing gold.

"What types of rounds do those two shoot?"

".45 ACP." Replied the Vendortron holding up a round. It was smaller than a .44, but bigger than a 9mm. Good enough.

"I'll take both of them. What about an assault rifle?" Sam asked. The Vendortron left he two pistols in front of Sam, and cleared away the rest. It turned back to a shelf and selected three, and laid them out for him.

The first was an AK assault rifle. It wasn't an AK-47, as he had seen one before, used by Neil the super mutant. It wasn't the gun he was looking for though. He turned his eyes to another rifle.

The second gun was a bullpup rifle. A sight was already on it, replacing the standard iron sights. Sam didn't like it. He found reloading bullpup rifles to be awkward, although it did help with mobility.

The third rifle looked more his style. A standard assault rifle, already fitted with a silencer. It had a standard black finish.

"What type of rounds does that one shoot?"

"That assault rifle is called a G36. Shoots 5.56. Quite commonly found in the Mojave, many traders sell them, but of course, we are the best."

"How much for both the pistols, that G36, and some ammo for both?" Sam asked.

"8000-10,000 caps, depending on how much ammo you want. Is 4 magazines for each sufficient?"

"Make it five." Sam said, taking out the large stack of caps he had. A couple of vendors gave him looks. The Vendortron processed the caps quickly, and slid him the guns through a hole in the glass window he hadn't seen before.

Sam heard a click as he pressed the two pistols to his thighs, both magnetically attaching. The G36 had a strap on it, but he kept it in his arms, as his backpack and katana were already on his back. He was surprised when he saw not only Beth and Boone approaching, but Cass as well. Cass had a smirk on her face while Beth was frowning.

"Looks like the whole gang is here. Minus Arcade." Sam joked. No one found it funny.

"Let's just head to Bittersprings before dark. I don't want to sleep outside." Beth said annoyed.

She led the party of 4, with Rex in tow behind Sam. For some reason, she didn't have a good vibe about the trip. But it was too late to back out now.


	11. Chapter 11: War

**Authors Note**

**kistune-demon16: Thank you for reading and reviewing :).**

**Ovall Aocrog: Cass really isn't a great companion, her back story is kind of dumb in my opinion. But she is very good in combat, second best to Boone IMO. **

**Desertstar87: Thank you, and I try, sometimes things get delayed in the shuffle of school work and gaming.**

**Dark Flygon Naxi: Sorry about that, lol. I gave ED-E and appearance in this chapter, but in the next I will explore more into her (I think of the little robot as a she).**

**John Chandos: I will be looking for that story when it comes. Thanks for reading.**

**yrwelikethis: Thank you, I appreciate the comment.**

**Scarlet Chakra: Thank you for reading and reviewing :).**

**Everyone:**

**I'd like to thank everyone who reads this, and even more to the people who review back. It's good to know that I write to an audience, not just for my own pleasure. The story takes a different turn in this chapter, where I introduce new villains. It is also shorter than other chapters, but I also delve into a little bit of Sam's back story. Thanks for reading, I'll try to update soon. **

For some reason, Cass didn't like Beth. And Beth didn't like Cass because of it. Sam sighed. It was probably just a girl thing. Beth had replaced her .357 magnum ironically with Benny's pistol. Sam recognized the picture of the woman on the grip was a biblical woman, one known as the Woman of the Apocalypse. He figured Beth must've carried it for sentimental purposes, as a 9mm pistol wasn't going to pack a punch on someone wearing heavy armor. He looked to his thighs for his own pistols, which he had gone to start calling names. The golden-barreled handgun was called Juliet. His silver-barreled one was called Romeo. He had read the famous Pre-War play of the two when he was a child, back in Vault 101. His father had always told him knowledge was the key.

Beth signaled a shack ahead. Boone looked up to see the sun setting. It was going to get dark soon. The group made their way to the shack. The door was surprisingly bolted on tight. Cass kicked it open easily while Beth rolled her eyes. Inside the shack was a refrigerator, an oven, as well as several shelves lining the walls. Sam and Boone started to scavenge the place. He found ammo for Romeo and Juliet, a few rounds for a shotgun, and some frag grenades. Boone had found similar items, ammo for his sniper and a few medical supplies. They met eye contact. Whoever stayed here before was stocked.

The refrigerator was filled with water, as well as a small bottle of whiskey, which Cass greedily snatched. There were a couple of beers and canned foods as well. Sam tossed his stuff in a corner of the shack, and laid on the floor with his head resting on his backpack. He carefully rested his G36 against the wall, and tossed Cass a few slugs for her shotgun, which she caught. The others put their stuff down as well, and rested. They were all silent for a moment.

"What changed your mind about Bitter Springs?" Sam asked Boone from across the room. They were in opposite corners.

"Can't dwell on the past too much. Sometimes you just have to face it." Boone replied.

Sam nodded, and removed his helmet, resting it next to his G36. He removed his pistol from the magnetic plates on his legs as well and placed them carefully next to the rest of his belongings. Again, it was quiet. Rex had positioned himself near the door, with his head resting on his paws. Beth stole a glance at Cass. Cass noticed it.

"What? You got something to say princess?" she asked, rising. Beth's temper flared at her tone when she said _princess_. She didn't know why the red haired woman had to be such a queen bitch.

"No. Nothing." Beth said looking away. Cass scoffed and sat back down. Silent once again. Sam got bored and fiddled with the radio frequencies on his Pip-Boy. Finally he managed to get a signal from "Radio New Vegas".

"In other news, three of the Fiend leaders have been taken out. This sure has taken a weight off the NCR's shoulders. Here's Dean Martin with Ain't That a Kick in the Head." Said a voice from Sam's Pip-Boy. The song started playing.

In a few moments Cass was fast asleep, as well as Boone, evident by Cass' snoring and Boone's glasses falling off, revealing his closed eyes. Rex had also fallen into a deep slumber. Sam got up and walked outside the shack, and sat down resting his back against a nearby rock. A few minutes later Beth joined him, holding two bottles of water. She offered one to him. He accepted.

"You ever think about the past?" Beth asked him.

"Sometimes. I try to forget, it's easier that way sometimes." Sam replied, taking a sip from the water bottle. Beth looked at him.

"Tell me about it." She said. She tried to be as convincing as possible.

"About what?"

"About what happened before you came here. Before, you said it was a long story. Well, we have all night. Tell me." Beth commanded. Sam sighed.

"Okay. You really want to know?" Sam asked. Beth nodded. Sam shook his head. She had no idea. "All right then. I guess I'll should start from where I came from…"

* * *

The Capital Wasteland

August 17, 2277

Vault 101

Sam

Sam was sleeping. In his deep sleep he was dreaming of his new job, as a doctor next to his father. He was talking to Amata, who had been given the job of assisting her father in preparing for the role of Overseer. It was fitting he supposed. Then she randomly took his shoulder and started to shake it. Then he realized he wasn't dreaming anymore. Amata was at his bedside shaking him violently. He pushed away her hands and stood. She looked worried. Usually he'd make a sarcastic comment, like how he was just dreaming of her but he pushed the thought aside.

"What's up?" he asked yawning.

"Your dad left the Vault!" she said urgently.

"Huh? That's impossible. What, is it April Fools already?"

"I'm being serious. They…they killed Jonas." She said, voice breaking. Sam got up and hugged her close.

"Tell me what happened."

"No time. You've got to leave too, my dad's men are after you. There's an exit in my dad's office." Amata said, breaking apart. Her eyes were red as she handed him something. A small handgun. He recognized it as one of the 10mm pistols that some of the higher ranked guards carried. "It's my dads. I think you're going to need it."

Sam turned the gun over his hand. This was an actually weapon. Something that could kill someone, not just hurt them like his BB gun. He frowned.

"I'll only use it if I have to." Sam promised Amata.

"Good luck Sam." Amata said running out. He gave himself a few minutes to take everything in before snatching up a few belongings and running out as well.

* * *

BANG, BANG. Two more shots, another guard dead. The first guard he had killed had almost beheaded him with a knife, another had also managed to hit him a few times before Sam had managed to shoot him.

"Shit." Sam said. "Stop fucking making me kill you, you damn bastards!"

At least one good thing had come from this, he thought while he shifted his shoulders in his new jacket, given to him by Butch. The fellow Vault dweller had given it to him after Sam had saved his mother. He rounded the corner, hearing voices.

"I don't know anything!" yelled a voice. It was Amata's. He heard a scream of pain and instantly entered the room, pistol in hand. He pointed it at a security officer, who he recognized as Stevie Mack, the brother of Wally. The Overseer just stared as the two glared at each other.

"What are you waiting for Mack? Get him!" commanded the Overseer.

Mack charged, whirling his baton. Sam quickly fired the 10mm handgun as fast as he could. The first bullet hit Mack in the head, instantly killing him. When Mack fell to the ground, he pointed the gun to the Overseer. He glanced at Amata, still sitting in a chair, staring at him, scared.

"Do what you wish young man. Just know that justice will eventually be served." Said the Overseer closing his eyes. Sam resisted the urge to shoot the man. Instead, he drew back his fist and punch the Overseer in the face. He dropped like a log.

"Amata, I'm sorry." Sam told her as she got up. There was blood trickling from the side of her mouth. He raised a hand to wipe it away.

"It's not your fault. Just go before more guards show up. I'll try to catch up."

Sam nodded, and continued on his way, running out of the room towards the Overseer's office.

* * *

As soon as he touched the button a large alarm started to blast. He heard footsteps behind him, and turned, gun in hand. Luckily he hadn't shot, as it was Amata.

"You actually did it." She remarked. Sam took her hand.

"I couldn't have done it without you."

"You better get going then. The guards are coming." She said letting go. He took her hand again.

"Come with me." He pleaded. But she shook her head.

"No. The Vault needs me. Who else will stand up to my father? And this is something you need to do alone. Good luck." She said. Sam didn't let go of her hand. He leaned in close and quickly kissed her. She didn't seem surprised.

* * *

"So what happened after you left?" Beth asked. Sam laughed.

"Lots of stuff. Not easy either. Think of getting thrown into a world you know nothing about. Luckily there are some good people in the world." Sam said.

* * *

The Capital Wasteland

August 20, 2277

The Capital Wasteland, Washington DC

Sam

Sam panted heavily, dragging his fellow companion across the hard concrete floor, away from gunfire. His companion was African American, with an eye patch and a shaved head. His eye not covered by the eye patch was closed. Finally, Sam managed to drag his companion into a storage closet. The gunfire stopped.

"Shit Jericho, what the hell was that?" Sam said leaning against a wall for support. His companion wasn't light. Jericho groaned and sat up from the ground.

"Fucking hell. Damn raiders got some good shots in me." He said standing. Sam tossed him a Stimpak, which he immediately used. Jericho looked around the floor, searching for something.

"Where the hell is my assault rifle kid?"

"I don't know. I was too busy saving your ass." Sam replied. He tossed Jericho his handgun, a 10mm pistol.

"Let's go fucking get it then. I'm not standing here all day!" Jericho yelled. His yelling attracted footsteps.

"Boss, I think they're in here!" yelled a voice. It was a female's.

"Fucking open it then you dumb broad." Said another. The door creaked open, revealing a female raider holding an assault rifle. It looked like Jericho's. Before Sam could even raise his hunting rifle, Jericho had already shot an entire clip into the raider. He snatched up his rifle quickly.

The two jumped out of the room, guns blazing. Sam easily shot a raider in the head, while Jericho sprayer his rifle about, bringing three more raiders tot eh ground. When all of the raiders were dead, Jericho pulled out a cigarette.

"Do you ever stop smoking?" Sam asked.

"No. Come on kid, let's hurry up and loot these bastards and keep on heading to that GNR place. I wanted a good bed to sleep on tonight."

"That Jericho guy was what you considered a good person?" Beth asked, surprised.

"No. Well, yes, but I was getting to the part where I met someone. Changed my life, I tell you." Sam replied.

The woman standing in front of him would've been the most beautiful thing he had seen in the waste, if not for the huge suit of metal armor she wore. At least she didn't hide her face though. She was pretty, and looked like she could handle herself.

"What the hell? Some locals get lost and ended up meeting up with us?" asked the woman.

"My name is Sam," Sam told her, trying not to shake. "I'm trying to go to Galaxy News Radio to find my dad."

The woman looked at her fellow companions, also dressed in the huge metal suits of armor. The rest of them wore helmets, however.

"Al right." She said finally. "We're going there too, you might as well tag along. My name is Sarah. Normally I'd shake your hand, but I'm afraid I'd crush it."

"Point taken." Sam said. Jericho grumbled. Sam thought he heard him mutter something along the lines of 'Brotherhood fuckers', but Sarah and the other people didn't seem to here him.

The group fought their way across a crumbling building, infested with Super Mutants. They then arrived at a courtyard. More people wearing the same type of armor were there. Sam felt nervous. Was he walking into something he would regret? Suddenly, the thought didn't matter. A rolled over bus suddenly exploded, with one of the armored people flying into the air. In the bus' place, stood a Super Mutant. A Super Mutant the size of a building. Sam stood there in shock. Jericho jumped straight into action however. Him and the armored people started firing upon the beast. Sam noticed that they shot lasers from their strange weapons. He felt himself being tackled to the ground.

"You just going to stand there and get yourself killed? Fine, but at least he a good distraction." Said a voice. It was Sarah. Sam took the comment literally.

He jumped from the ground, waving his arms wildly. The behemoth noticed, him and began charging. Sam stole a quick glance at Sarah. She was holding a large cannon like object, and was loading something the size of a football into it. Sam jumped under the behemoth as it tried to snatch him up. He kept rolling, trying to get away. He couldn't believe this was happening. Suddenly, something exploded. It was the behemoth. Sarah had fired the cannon-like weapon she had, blowing it to bits. Sam almost peed his pants. Sarah walked over to him and offered him her hand. He took it.

"Either you're stupid, or you have balls. I'm guessing both." She joked.

* * *

"That wasn't the last time I would see her either." Sam told Beth. Even though he had been originally forced to tell her his story, he was enjoying it more now.

"What happened after that?"

"Really messed up stuff. I found my dad, but he died pretty soon after. My dad's friend Doctor Li and I escaped with a couple of other Doctors from this place. That's when I met Sarah again. That's when I met the rest of the Brotherhood."

"What were they like?"

"Good people. Taught me how to wear Power Armor too." Sam said. He checked his Pip-Boy, and realized they had talked for quite awhile. It was late into the night already. "It's getting late."

Sam stood up, but Beth pulled him by his arm back down.

"Not yet." Beth told him. Sam laughed

"Okay. I'll give you the short story then."

"Shoot."

"After I met the Brotherhood I went on a mission to find something for Project Purity, the water purification project I told you about. Anyways, I found it. On the way I met a friendly Super Mutant. His name was Fawkes. We traveled together for awhile, but we had different paths."

"How so?"

"It's complicated. Anyways, we had this battle for the Purifier, and that's where I met my dad's killer. I didn't even hesitate. He died instantly, which was more than he deserved. Sarah and I got the Purifier started, but there was some kind of explosion. Knocked me and Sarah out of commission."

"What next?"

"We took the fight to the Enclave. Did a damn good job if I do say so myself."

"That's it then? That's the end?"

"Well I'm still living aren't I?" Sam said laughing. Beth laughed too.

Eventually it got chilly so both of them went back inside and slept. The next day they would be arriving at Bittersprings.

* * *

Sam had thought Bitter Springs was some kind of city, huge and full of people. He was disappointed when he saw it was a ruddy old settlement, now a NCR base. Boone stopped for a second.

"This was the place. Told us to shoot everyone who came out of there." He said pointing. "Bunch of women and kids."

The others were silent. Boone quickly turned his head to the distance, and took out his .308 hunting rifle. He looked through the scope, and cursed.

"Legion raiding party. Looks pretty damn big too. They have dogs too."

At the mention of dogs Rex barked. Beth almost laughed.

"Okay then. We'll take them out before they get here." Beth said. Boone shook his head.

"They won't come from just one direction. I'm betting they'll send a group from the east or the west too."

"Fine then. We'll split." Sam said, checking his G36. Beth took out her hunting rifle as well. "I'll go with Boone. You and Cass can hold the other force when they come. Rex can go with you."

Rex barked at the mention of his name. Sam gestured for him to follow the two women.

"You sure that's safe?" Boone asked.

"What? Cass has a shotgun and Beth has a rifle. They'll be fine."

"That's not what I meant. Whatever. Let's take these bastards out."

* * *

Boone positioned himself on a small hill, lying prone. Sam had hidden behind a large boulder. He could hear the Legion troops now. With any luck, they wouldn't be expecting resistance. Sam heard the shot of Boone's rifle, indicating he had shot someone. Sam stood up from behind the boulder and shot his G36. A burst from the gun brought a Legionnaire to his feet. He didn't stop there, however. He continued firing, taking accurate shots, aiming for the head. The good news was the Legion troops were ignoring Boone. The bad news was they were going for Sam.

Sam emptied the rest of his clip into a Legion troop, as he got close. He began stepping backwards while reloading. Something hit him in the chest, hard. He looked into the distance before he toppled over. His vision started to get blurry. He could hear Boone's rifle, still shooting. He felt the painful feeling of his cell regenerating, pushing the bullet inside of him out. His vision cleared as he stood up, just in time. Another Legion was swinging a machete at him. He blocked the blade with his armored forearm, while drawing Romeo from his right thigh and firing. A bullet hissed past his head and he dived for cover. Another shot fired from Boone's rifle silenced the Legion sniper. But it wasn't over.

In the distance a man wearing blood red armor approached, flanked by more Legion troops. He wore a red armored helmet, with a black plume sticking from the top. Even from how far Boone was away, he could see the man had multiple weapons on his body. A Super Sledge on his back, knives tied around his belt, at least four pistols in holsters around his body. He also held a light machine gun in his hand. Who was he? He looked to Sam through his scope and saw him nod, while reloading his G36. But then Boone heard the man's voice, calling out.

"I know you're out there. Reveal yourself, or these people die." Said the voice. It was loud and commanding.

Puzzled, Boone looked through his scope again, and cursed. Many of the Bittersprings residents were behind the man. Cass, Beth, and Rex were also behind them. Legion soldiers flanked all sides, pointing guns.

"Come out now, or they'll all die." Said the voice again.

Sam stood up from behind his hiding place, his G36 pointed at the man. A laugh rang out.

"Well, the Black Ghost himself. I was hoping to run into you eventually." Said the red armored man.

"And you are?"

"I have no name. Other than what I crave. But Caesar and his men call me War."

"Like the Horseman of Apocalypse?" Sam said without thinking. War laughed.

"Yes. Yes I suppose so." War finally said.

"Let these people go." Sam told him. His voice was steady, but his heart was pounding.

"Tell you what," War said smirking. "I'm a reasonable man. I'll fight you. If you defeat me, I'll let all of these people go."

There was no better way. This man, War might think of himself as a better warrior, but Sam wasn't intimidated.

"Fine." Sam said. War tossed his light machine gun tot eh ground, and stripped off his belt and holsters. He also dropped his Super Sledge, as well as two machetes that hung form his belt.

"Your weapon on choice?" War asked. Sam drew his katana, as well as tossing both his pistols and G36 to the ground. War bent down and picked up both of his machetes.

For a moment, both were silent. Sam hoped Boone was watching, and would take advantage of the situation. Suddenly, War lashed out with one of his machetes, catching Sam unexpected. It cut into the Chinese Stealth Armor, but didn't draw blood. The second blow was more expected, and Sam parried it easily. But fast as lightning, the other machete came in form the side. He barely managed to jump out of the way. He looked at War, and saw his eyes gleaming. He was enjoying it.

War slashed with both machetes in an overhand slash. Sam parried both blows with his katana, but struggled to push the two blades away. He lashed out suddenly with his foot, aiming for War's groin. The kick missed, but caused him to back off. Sam cursed in his head. This man was a far more experienced fighter than he was. There was no way he would win unless he did something unexpected.

Sam lashed out quickly with his katana, which War easily blocked. Sam's fist then came from the right, but War expected it and slashed at the arm. A bright flash of blood spurted from his hand, but Sam ignored it and ducked down, sweeping War from his feet. War hit the ground with a loud clang of metal, and Sam quickly plunged his katana downwards. War was quick to react, and rolled to the right, making Sam's katana miss its mark.

War recovered one of his machetes quickly, but Sam snatched up the second and chucked it into the distance. They circled each other.

"Not bad. I can see why you bested Vulpes."

Sam didn't reply. He swung his katana with both hands, aiming for War's unarmored neck. War ducked, dodging it. Before Sam could do anything else, he swung viciously into his side. The machete connected, the sharp edge cutting through the armor, into skin. Sam yelled in pain, and stumbled back, clutching the wound. War laughed.

Ignoring his pain, Sam charged War. The move was unexpected, and War was tackled to the ground. The two rolled on the ground, both trying to gain control. Suddenly, War was on top. He punched Sam in the face, hard. The orange polarized visor cracked. Another punch almost made Sam black out. He raised his arms to cover his head. War punched on relentlessly. Finally, War stopped, but only to pick up his machete. Sam was already up though, but his katana lay on the ground, several feet away. War swung his machete down at Sam, intending to kill his weaponless opponent. Sam crossed both his arms and caught the machete between his crossed forearms. The blade bit past the armor and drew blood, but Sam ignored the pain and kicked War where it hurt. The machete fell out of his hand, and Sam snatched it out of the air quickly. War began falling to his knees. The last thing he saw was his own machete, swung at his neck.

Sam felt a hail of things hitting him from behind before he fell to the ground.

* * *

Sam didn't know where he woke up. His head hurt. He reached up to it to remove his helmet, but found someone had already removed it, as well as his armor, leaving him wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. He got up out of the bed, muscles groaning in protest. He looked at himself. No scars. It was understandable. He took a good look at his surroundings. Wait, the place looked familiar.

He racked his brain. He had been here before. Only it wasn't him who was injured. Could it be?

"Hey Doc, you here?" Sam called out. He heard a rush of footsteps. The person who the footsteps belonged to was Beth. She immediately went over to him and pushed him down to the bed.

"Stay." She said. He tried getting up but she pushed him down again.

"What happened?" he asked her. She took out a bottle of water and handed it to him.

"After you killed that one guy, Boone open fired on the Legion. Cass and I did some work on them too. All of the Bitter Springs people wanted to thank you."

"How did I get here?" he asked wearily.

"Boone carried you. Said you weighed a ton." She said smiling. He smiled as well.

"Great. So where's my stuff? Let's get going." He said sitting up.

"Uh…about that." Beth said frowning. Sam frowned too.

"What?" he asked.

"Well, your suit is pretty banged up. I don't think that invisibility stuff is going to work anymore." Beth told him. Sam sighed. He heard more footsteps, but it turned out to be Rex. The cyber dog leapt on top of him and licked his face.

"Forgot about Rex. He did a lot of work too." Beth said reaching out and patting the dog on the head. Beth hesitated before speaking again. "You took a real beating back there. How are you okay?"

"I heal quick." Sam said simply. Beth didn't press him for details. "Let's get going back to the Lucky 38 already. I want to sleep in a nice comfortable bed."

* * *

The group didn't leave Goodsprings until the next morning. Doctor Mitchell had snagged a shirt and jeans for Sam to wear as well. Without his usual armor, Sam had to keeping his pistols in his pocket, with his katana and G36 in his hands. The damage to his suit was extensive.

The visor was brutally cracked. A cut from the glove to the elbow of the suit was clearly visible, as well as a large cut in the side of the suit. The stealth field fluttered and died every time he tried to activate it. None the less, he kept the broken suit, stuffing it in his backpack with the rest of his belongings.

"What the fuck was up with that one guy?" Cass asked. Beth guessed she must be talking about War, the Legion man.

"Must've been some high ranking bitch." Boone said.

"There will be more." Beth said suddenly. They all turned to her. "There are Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I don't think it's a coincidence that that guy had red armor, just like the red horse."

"We'll deal with them if we ever come across another." Sam said. The rest of the journey was made in silence.

* * *

When they got back to the Lucky 38, Arcade was waiting for them. He had a worried look on his face.

"We might have a problem." He said indicating to something lying on a table. The others didn't recognize it, other than Sam. He lunged forward and seized Arcade by his white lab coat.

"Where the hell did you get that?" He asked threateningly.

"I don't know! Some guy dropped it off with Victor! I'm just as surprised as you are!"

"Not to interrupt, but what is it?" Cass asked. Sam let go of Arcade, and turned to the rest of them.

"That," he said pointing to it. "Is an Enclave eyebot."


	12. Chapter 12: Famine

**Authors Note**

**Desertstar87: I'll explore more detail into it later, lol. The story is wrapping up however, all it needs is a few more chapters to put things in place.**

**Dark Flygon Naxi: It's a play off of "Mustang and Sally" and "Calamity and Jane" from Call of Duty Black Ops. Unfortunately, it will be removed. I had ideas about implementing a new Chinese Stealth Suit, but my mind is already set on finishing this story, and continuing Sam's journey in another story. I have ideas for that story, but I don't want to spoil anything.**

**Lord Kain: I have some text here in this chapter with Sam and Arcade investigating the eyebot.**

**ScarletChakra: Thank you, I hope you enjoy this one as well.**

**Ovall Aocrog: That's a great idea, I included a little snippit of it in this chapter. Nothing major though.**

**ZOMBEHSRKEWL: Thank you, I hope you enjoy this chapter too.**

**CyberJordan: There was a time when I was going to expand the story, and have the battle for Hoover Dam play out very different, but midterms are coming up for me, and I must study more than I have time for myself. **

**colortheskyred: I understand what you're saying, but I can't change previous chapters. Newer chapters are longer, and better.**

**Everyone:**

**I want to thank everyone who reads this story, as well as reviews it. You're all awesome people. I am going to try and end this story before my midterms come, but I will start a new one when it comes back, with Sam as the main character once again. No spoilers, but I plan to write an Oblivion crossover, as I'm quite excited for the Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. **

* * *

"Let's trash it." Sam said, picking up a hammer lying near the eyebot.

"I agree." Arcade said.

Sam brought the hammer high up, but his arm was jerked back by Beth.

"No. It's not harming anyone by being broken. Besides, I think it looks kind of cute." Beth said. Sam wrenched his arm away, but set down the hammer regardless.

"Whatever you say." He said, still eyeing the little eyebot.

"We're low on caps." Boone said. "Not that we can't just live in this sweet place for the rest of our lives, but we need caps for repairs, guns, and ammo."

"Alright. We'll look around for jobs." Sam said.

Beth picked up the eyebot, marveling at how it was mostly intact, except for a large hole in its side that revealed burned wires and circuits inside. Maybe with some more parts and some scrap metal she could patch it up. But for now, she set it back down.

They all cramped into the elevator, and went to their respective floors.

* * *

A group of Legion soldiers marched in perfect rows behind their leader. He was not a patient man, nor a kind one. They knew of the tortures he did on soldiers who didn't follow orders. The man raised a hand, signaling for the group to stop. They immediately followed his silent order, dropping their things and beginning to set up tents.

Unluckily, a wandering Wastelander was walking close by to the camp. The man instantly spotted him, and moved with ridiculous speed, sprinting to the man and tackling him to the ground. His eyes were black holes staring into the Wastelanders eyes. His armor was as black as his eyes, if not blacker.

"P-P-Please. Let me go." The Wastelander begged. The man in black armor simply laughed. His laugh alerted his soldiers, who instantly came to his side.

"Tie him up, and let him starve. When the sun falls, we'll have a meal tonight." The man said licking his lips.

The Wastelander saw his canine teeth were filed to the point that they were sharp fangs. It was the last thing he saw before everything went black.

* * *

House had called Beth to come up again. He seemed less patient then the last time she had spoken to him.

"As I said before, there is no rush to use the Platinum chip. You still have it though, am I correct?" House said. His last question sounded threatening.

Beth quickly pulled the chip from her pocket and held it up.

"I have to find a way in there first. It's hard enough with all the Legion popping up and attacking us every time we go out." Beth told him.

"Hm…I believe it must be. I will look in the matter for you. But until then, stay safe." House said back. Beth started to turn and leave, but House called out again. "Wait."

"Yes?"

"I cross checked the backgrounds of all your companions. Excluding the cyber dog."

"I didn't ask you to." Beth said, confused.

"I know. I did it for safety purposes. All of them check out, except for a small detail." House said. "It concerns your friend with the sword.""

Beth listened with interest.

"I ran his name, and found files connecting him to the Brotherhood of Steel, as well as a book."

"Book?"

"I believe there's a copy somewhere in this place. Ask Victor to find it for you."

"Thanks." Beth said before leaving.

* * *

The next day, Arcade was tinkering with the eyebot. There were speakers on the machine, so it must obviously have audio files, or at least the ability to project sound.

"Messing with the eyebot?" said a voice from behind him. He jumped, startled by the voice and turned around.

It was Sam. Even without his Chinese Stealth suit he was good at sneaking around. Arcade made a mental note to himself.

"Uh yeah. I thought it might have some audio banks or something useful."

"Heh, sure." Sam said walking over.

Arcade began tinkering with a wire, connected to a large circuit. He accidentally moved another wire in the process, which gave him a nasty shock.

"Ow!" he said stepping back, grasping his own hand in pain. Sam laughed.

"Don't the Enclave teach you guys anything?" Sam asked. Arcade frowned angrily.

"I wasn't taught. I'm not even Enclave really. My dad was. And not all of them are bad." He said.

Sam just shrugged and took a look at the eyebot. He examined the intact sides. Dang, was this thing in rough shape. A license plate was stuck to it, with numbers worn out so all that could be read was ED-E. He turned the eyebot so that the side with the hole was facing towards him. From what he could see, the damage wasn't enough to shut this thing down for good. With a few parts, he could probably fix it. Not that he wanted to.

Sam noticed the wire that Arcade had been fiddling with originally. He carefully moved it so that it now touched the circuit board. A voice came out from the speakers. The voice was a deep, man's voice.

"Diagnosis completed. Begin recording. My name is Whitley. I'm a researcher at Adams Air Force Base. Until recently I was in charge of the Duraframe reinforcement project for the combat model eyebots. Eyebot Duraframe Subject E is both the prototype, and the last functional model in this test group. I was prepared to make several significant upgrades to the machines. However, as the project was canceled and all Duraframe assets are being diverted to Hellfire Armor, I am sending this model to the Navarro Outpost."

Arcade's eyes perked up at the mention of Navarro.

"Other than eyebot, Adams Air Force Base, and Hellfire Armor, I'm lost. You?" Sam asked.

"Navarro was an NCR outpost. I don't know if it's still there, or if the NCR just blew it up. How do you know about that other stuff?"

"I've been to Adams Air Force Base. It was the Enclave's main base of operations in the Capital Wasteland. We blew them to hell. This eyebot must've been sent before we attacked."

"This is incredible! Look at it!" Arcade said, finally noticing the hard work that 'Whitley' had put into the eybot. Sam had to admit, it was formidable.

A pipe, which was undoubtedly a laser was attached the bottom of the bottom of the eyebot. A little speaker was on top of it. The eyebot also seemed to be made out of a stronger metal than regular eyebots as well. Sam shook his head when he realized if the Enclave had had these more advance eyebots ready for a fight, then the Brotherhood would have surely lost.

"What should we do with it?" Sam asked.

"We'll ask Beth. She'll know what to do." Arcade told him.

* * *

To Boone, a sniper wasn't just a weapon to shoot someone with. It was like a woman. You treat it with respect and take care of it, and it'll take care of you. He finished cleaning his rifle, and tossed the now dirty rag aside. He refitted a new scope onto the rifle, as well as loaded in more rounds of .308. He stepped back and marveled at his work.

The .308 hunting rifle that used to be weathered and a duct taped barrel now looked brand new. The wood shone in the light, and the barrel was no longer covered with duct tape. A longer-range optic scope was mounted on it with screws. He had even gone to the trouble of making extended magazines. A knock at his door made him turn.

It was Cass. She was wearing her usual clothing, leaning against the doorway.

"What?" Boone said gruffly.

"Chill your nuts. Princess wants everybody to come downstairs." Cass said. Boone guessed 'Princess' was Beth. He almost chuckled. Almost.

"I'll be right there." Boone said gruffly again, stowing his rifle away in a trunk.

* * *

"Okay. So I guess you're all wondering why I called you down." Beth said. Cass made a face. Beth ignored it and continued. "We still have the issue of this eyebot. Sam and Arcade say it can be repaired, but they don't know if they should or not. So I wanted to ask everyone's opinion."

"No." Cass declared quickly. Maybe it was a little too quick.

"I don't care." Boone said.

"I say we should." Arcade said. "Might have some important information."

"I don't care either." Sam said. "So I guess that means we're repairing it. Only one problem though."

"What?" Beth asked.

"The parts we need are extremely rare. Only people I know of who might have it are the Followers of Apocalypse, but they would never give any parts for some random person to fix a robot." Arcade explained.

"The Brotherhood might have the parts. I could check in there if you want." Sam offered.

"Okay then. Arcade, go to the Followers. See if they want anything in return. Sam, check in with the Brotherhood."

"Alright. Cass, Boone? Any of you want to tag along?" Sam asked. Boone shook his head.

"Hell, it's better than sitting on my ass here. Let's go." Cass said. The two went to the elevator together. Arcade reached for the eyebot, but Beth stopped him.

"You're not going there with it." She said protectively. Arcade shrugged and left, leaving her and Boone alone. "So,"

Boone didn't let her continue. He left as well. She sighed before plopping down in a chair.

* * *

Sam pulled on the clothes he had gotten from Doctor Mitchell, a pair of black jeans and a dirty white T-shirt. He slipped a belt around his waist with two holsters for Romeo and Juliet. He also strapped his trench knife to his belt as well. He picked up his katana, contemplating on whether or not to bring it. It couldn't hurt. He belted the sheath and sword as well. His G36 rested against the wall, but he didn't bother to pick it up. He stuffed his backpack with a bedroll, as well as ammo and a few bottle of water. He was set.

Cass was waiting for him in the lobby. Her ratty hat was gone, but her fiery red hair was still tied up. She had a backpack on as well, with her shotgun in her hands.

"You ready?" He asked.

"Always." She said grinning.

"Alright. It's still early. Let's try to get there before it gets dark."

* * *

The death of War was a terrible loss for the Legion. Caesar hadn't spoken to anyone for almost an entire day. Eventually, he sent a messenger to bring the three other Horsemen to his tent. One of them was absent, already hunting for the Black Ghost. If he didn't manage to kill him, then he doubted anyone but Lanius could. He shrugged the thought aside however. There was no way Famine would fail him. Caesar clapped his hands together.

"My Horsemen. Only three of you remain, and one of you is already hunting that fiend, the Black Ghost. Already he has slain two of our strongest warriors. He must be stopped. I hear he is quite good at fighting with blades and his fists. Try to avoid close encounters. If Famine fails, you two will be my last resort. Do not fail me."

"Yes Caesar." Both the Horsemen replied.

One of them wore white armor, splattered with blood. The other wore a long black robe, with some kind of strange armor. He said it had come from before the time period before the Great War. It was a strange type of armor, with many links of chains. But no matter how oddly he dressed, Caesar knew that Death was the most fearsome of the Horsemen. He was not as battle hungry as War, as cruel as Famine, or as psychotic as Pestilence. He was calmer, more reserved, and a strong thinker. His combat capabilities were more than excellent, but what gave him the edge over his opponents was his ability to outsmart them.

With two bows, both of the Horsemen left, leaving Caesar to himself in the tent.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" complained Cass. They had been walking for a while, and both of them were exhausted. Sam looked into the distance. It was almost a quarter of a mile away.

"Yeah we got a little bit more to go. Come on." He said pressing on. Cass groaned loudly.

They didn't receive a warm welcome. Ramos looked stressed, probably from the work he was doing. He waved them away to someone called Lorenzo. Lorenzo turned out to be a senior knight. Sam was "officially" a higher rank then him. But Lorenzo seemed like a nice person.

"Eh? Parts for a robot? I'd have to take a look at it, but I'm pretty sure I could fix it up for you." Lorenzo said wearily. "The Brotherhood will probably want to study it a little though. You don't mind do you?"

"Uh…I'll have to see about it." Sam said unsure. Cass and him turned to leave, when another voice called out. It was a woman's. Sam turned around to see Veronica running towards him. He couldn't suppress a grin.

"Hey! I'm glad I got a chance to talk to you before you guys left. I…uh…wanted to ask if you wanted another person tagging along. Someone who's good at punching people's faces in." Veronica asked. Sam looked to Cass, who was eyeing Veronica. Surprisingly, Cass just nodded.

"Alright then. We'll have to see what Beth says, but she'll probably say yes. Welcome to the team." Sam said. Veronica seemed to beam with excitement.

"Awesome. When do we set out?"

"I guess it'll be better to leave in the morning. Who knows what can happen at night?"

"Yeah, the Lucky 38 is pretty far away. We might as well crash here." Cass said. Veronica nodded.

"They're a few empty rooms in the bunker. I'm sure I can find you guys rooms."

* * *

"Parts Arcade? You know I can't just give you these. They're expensive." Julie Farkas told him. Arcade nodded.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"What we need is supplies. What do you need these parts for anyways?"

"An eyebot. My…boss wants me to fix it up." Arcade said uneasily. Julie shook her head.

"Enclave business Arcade? You know how we feel about the Brotherhood and them."

"We're not helping the Enclave. We're just fixing it up."

"Well…" Julie said. "I guess I could give you the parts free. Under one condition."

"What?"

"I'm going to want to borrow it for awhile, give it to April to study it or something. It could have interesting tech."

"I'm going to have to ask, but if my friend says yes, then we have a deal."

* * *

Veronica was up earlier than Sam and Cass. She wore her ratty robes, hood down revealing her raven black hair tied up in a ponytail. She had a backpack slung over her shoulders, with a 10mm pistol at her hip, and a Power Fist on her hand. She had even gone to the liberty of bringing them toothbrushes, something they only had at the Lucky 38.

"The Elder just let's you leave as you please?" Sam asked her.

"They send me out for scouting parties. Hell, I think he'd be glad if he knew I was leaving." She said laughing.

No one stopped the trio on their way out. Maybe because the bunker was in such a hectic state, or maybe because they didn't care. None the less, they left without any trouble.

"You ever use that pea shooter?" Cass asked Veronica. She was pointing to the 10mm pistol at her hip.

"Not really. I'm more of a punching type of girl." Veronica told her. Cass grinned. "So you guys live at that big tower?" Veronica said pointing in the distance.

"Yeah. Though you can't really say we live there. I like going out a lot. Mixing things up a bit." Sam replied. He squinted and saw something out of place in the distance. "What is that?"

"What?" Cass and Veronica said. They looked into the distance as well. Cass cursed when she saw the sight.

"Legion." She said. "Shit."

"Who's the prick wearing that fancy black armor?" Veronica asked. She had pulled out a pair of binoculars from her backpack.

"Can I see that?" Sam asked. She handed it to him.

He looked through the binoculars, only to see a man wearing pitch-black armor. There was something about him though, that gave Sam chills down his spine. A small band of Legion followed him, wearing classical Legion armor. Sam looked away from the binoculars only to see Cass drawing her shotgun, moving closer to the Legion party. He tossed away the binoculars and tackled her down.

"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed. She shoved him off of her and stood.

"What are we going to do? Run?" she shot back angrily.

"Yeah, maybe!" he said angrily as well. "We're not throwing away our lives to kill a few Legion."

"Uh, not to interrupt, but they're getting closer." Veronica said worriedly. She had reclaimed the fallen binoculars and held them in her hand not wearing the Power Fist.

Sam squinted and could make out the bare outlines of men. He turned to Cass.

"You want to stay here and die? Fine." He told her. "Come on Veronica. Let's see if we can get around these guys."

Veronica followed him as he started to jog away. Cass reluctantly followed. Unfortunately for them, one of the Legion soldiers spotted them. Sam heard him yell something about a sword before the party of Legion began chasing after them.

* * *

Famine, the second Horsemen felt a warm feeling rising in his stomach as he realized the man he was chasing was no other than the Black Ghost. He was no wearing his armor however, which was confusing. Of course it might've been broken beyond repair by War. He felt a pang of disappointment. He had been hoping for a challenge. He barked orders to a Legion soldier by his side. Only a few moments later, Sam heard the sounds of dogs barking, hungry for blood.

"Shit!" Veronica cursed loudly as a vicious dog bit her leg. She punched it with her Power Fisted hand, caving in its skull.

Sam had pulled out one of the pistols from his belt, Juliet. The .45 ACP round killed the dog on his trail instantly. He heard the sound of Cass firing her shotgun, also killing another dog. Sam looked around; gun raised looking for more enemies. He saw the Legion party was getting closer. Shit, he thought.

"Come on, let's keep moving!" he yelled. He started to sprint. He didn't care where he was going; it was better than facing a large group of Legion with 3 people.

"There! Look!" Veronica said. Sam looked to where she was pointing, at a large valley. Maybe, if they could lose the Legion in there, they could escape. They continued sprinting.

The Legion never seemed to slow. Even though Sam, Cass, and Veroncia were near the point of collapsing, the Legion soldiers just continued to push forward. Eventually, Cass pointed out a cave, which they immediately dove into. They were all panting heavily.

"Fuck…Shit. How are we going to get out of this?" Sam said more to himself than anyone. He peeked outside the cave. The Legion soldiers were close. They'd be where they were in a few minutes. They had to act fast.

Sam desperately looked for a means of escape. Then he saw it. The valley broke into two at a fork in front of them. He could see one of them forks led to a dead end, with another cave. He shook his head when he realized the plan would never work. Someone would have to go the other way and make sure no one followed. He made his decision, and stood up.

"See that fork over there?" Sam asked the two women. They looked over and nodded. "We can hide in that cave over there. It's a dead end; they won't expect us to go there. We can make it before they see us if we run."

"Shit, more running?" Cass said groaning. Even though her muscles protested, she stood.

"Okay, let's hit it then."

The three sprinted from the cave quickly. Sam glanced to see if a Legion soldier had spotted them. He could barely make the outlines of the soldiers while squinting. That meant if he couldn't see them, they couldn't see him. He purposely started to slow, but Veronica and Cass didn't seem to notice. Eventually, he stopped suddenly, and began sprinting in the opposite direction. Cass and Veronica didn't notice until they reached the mouth of the cave.

By then, the Legion had spotted Sam going down the fork that wasn't a dead end. Cass tried to run after him, but Veronica stopped her.

"You think he tricked us here on purpose? He wouldn't have wanted it any other way." Veronica told her.

The valley led out onto a cliff overlooking a large river. Sharp jagged rocks that jutted from the earth, pointing upwards, which surrounded the river. Sam realized he had led himself into his deathbed. He turned around, only to face the small Legion army that had been following him. The group parted, revealing the man in black armor he had seen before. He was smiling, revealing sharp pointed teeth. His skin was unnaturally pale, his eyes black holes.

"Well, well. If it isn't the infamous Black Ghost?" said the man laughing. "I hear you're quite the escape artist. Tell me though, where is that dashing suit of yours?"

Sam didn't answer. He took a step back as the man took a step forward.

"A mute as well? Now that's just silly. How about I tell you my name, and then you'll come with us to see Caesar."

"I'd rather die." Sam said bravely, though he didn't draw his guns, or his sword.

"Really then? Well I suppose that can be arranged. Soldier! Hand me your spear!"

The soldier beside the man in black armor took out his spear and handed it to him. The man grinned.

"I suppose I should tell you my name before I die. I am the Second Horsemen, Fam-"

Famine was interrupted by Sam quickly taking off his backpack and throwing it at him. It prolonged the inevitable for a second. Sam tried to pull out a pistol from his side, but instantly fell back as Famine recovered and lunged forward with the spear, stabbing him in the center of his chest.

"Normally I would save your corpse for a meal, but I'm feeling charitable." He said smiling.

He pushed the spear deeper before shoving Sam off the cliff, into the rocks and the water. Sam didn't close his eyes until he felt the cool rush of water enclose him.


End file.
